


At That Moment

by gyllene76



Category: Southern Vampire Mysteries - Charlaine Harris
Genre: Drama, Eric Northman - Freeform, Eric/Sookie - Freeform, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-06
Updated: 2017-03-13
Packaged: 2018-03-16 15:50:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 52,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3494015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gyllene76/pseuds/gyllene76
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This story begins  at the start of Definitely Dead. Eric shows up at Sookie’s house just as she is leaving to go out on her date with Quinn.  I am trying to fix just one of many mistakes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sookie immediately becomes smarter. LOL! Meridian informed me that she seemed too smart, but why would I write a story if it was to stay with canon Sookie? So, beware! She’s a smarter Sookie. :)

 

This story begins  at the start of Definitely Dead. Eric shows up at Sookie’s house just as she is leaving to go out on her date with Quinn.  I am trying to fix just one of many mistakes.   

Sookie immediately becomes smarter.  LOL!  Meridian informed me that she seemed too smart, but why would I write a story if it was to stay with canon Sookie? So, beware! She’s a smarter Sookie. :)

 

The beginning is from the book. Word for word so if you want to skip it keep going down until you see the line separating it from where I took over or you might need a fresher.

 

* * *

 

 

I got my black wrap out of the closet, the one Alcide had given me to replace one Debbie Pelt had vandalized.  I’d need it later in the evening.  I slipped into my black sandals.  I experimented with jewelry, finally settling on a plain gold chain (it had been my grandmother’s) and plain ball earrings.

Hah!

There was a knock on the front door, and I glanced at the clock, a bit surprised that Quinn was fifteen minutes early. I hadn't heard his truck, either. I opened the door to find not Quinn, but Eric, standing there.

I am sure he enjoyed my gasp of surprise.

Never open your door without checking. Never assume you know who's on the other side. That's why I'd gotten the peepholes! Stupid me. Eric must have flown, since I couldn't see a car anywhere.

"May I come in?" Eric asked politely. He had looked me over. After appreciating the view, he realized it hadn't been designed with him in mind. He wasn't happy. "I suppose you're expecting company?"

"As a matter of fact I am, and actually, I'd rather you stayed on that side of the doorsill," I said. I stepped back so he couldn't reach me.

"You told Pam that you didn't want to come to Shreveport," he said. Oh yes, he was angry. "So here I am, to find out why you don't answer my call." Usually, his accent was very slight, but tonight I noticed that it was pronounced.

"I didn't have time," I said. "I'm going out tonight."

"So I see," he said, more quietly. "Who are you going out with?"

"Is that really any of your business?" I met his eyes, challengingly.

"Of course it is," he said.

I was disconcerted. "And that would be why?" I rallied a little.

"You should be mine. I have slept with you, I have cared for you, I have… assisted you financially."

"You paid me money you owed me, for services rendered," I answered. "You may have slept with me, but not recently, and you've shown no signs of wanting to do so again. If you care for me, you're showing it in a mighty strange way. I never heard that 'total avoidance aside from orders coming from flunkies' was a valid way to show caring." This was a jumbled sentence, okay, but I knew he got it.

"You're calling Pam a flunky?" He had a ghost of smile on his lips. Then he got back to being miffed. I could tell because he began dropping his contractions. "I do not have to hang around you to show you. I am sheriff. You… you are in my retinue."

I knew my mouth was hanging open, but I couldn't help it. "Catching flies," my grandmother had called that expression, and I felt like I was catching plenty of them. "Your retinue?" I managed to splutter.

"Well, up you and your retinue. You don't tell me what to do!"

"You are obliged to go with me to the conference," Eric said, his mouth tense and his eyes blazing. "That was why I called you to Shreveport, to talk to you about travel time and arrangements."

"I'm not obliged to go anywhere with you. You got outranked, buddy."

"Buddy? Buddy!"

And it would have degenerated from there, if Quinn hadn't pulled up. Instead of arriving in his truck, Quinn was in a Lincoln Continental. I felt a moment of sheer snobbish pleasure at the thought of riding in it. I'd selected the pants outfit at least partly because I thought I'd be scrambling up into a pickup, but I was just as pleased to slither into a luxurious car. Quinn came across the lawn and mounted the porch with an understated speed. He didn't look as though he was hurrying, but suddenly he was there, and I was smiling at him, and he looked wonderful. He was wearing a dark gray suit, a dark purple shirt, and a tie that blended the two colors in a paisley pattern. He was wearing one earring, a simple gold hoop.

Eric had fang showing.

"Hello, Eric," Quinn said calmly. His deep voice rumbled along my spine. "Sookie, you look good enough to eat." He smiled at me.

"You look very nice, too," I said, trying not to beam like an idiot. It was not cool to drool.

Eric said, "What have you been telling Sookie, Quinn?"

The two tall men looked at each other. I didn't believe I was the source of their animosity. I was a symptom, not the disease. Something lay underneath this.

"I've been telling Sookie that the queen requires Sookie's presence at the conference as part of her party, and that the queen's summons supercedes yours," Quinn said flatly.

"Since when has the queen given orders through a shifter?" Eric said, contempt flattening his voice.  Now that Eric had mentioned it, I did think it was odd that the queen would send Quinn of all people.

"Since this shifter performed a valuable service for her in the line of business," Quinn answered, with no hesitation. "Mr. Cataliades suggested to Her Majesty that I might be helpful in a diplomatic capacity, and my partners were glad to give me extra time to perform any duties she might give me."

I wasn't totally sure I was following this, but I got the gist of it and it didn’t seem right.

Eric was incensed, to use a good entry from my Word of the Day calendar. In fact, his eyes were almost throwing sparks, he was so angry. "This woman has been mine, and she will be mine," he said, in tones so definite I thought about checking my rear end for a brand.

Quinn shifted his gaze to me. "Babe, are you his, or not?" he asked.

* * *

 

What a question that was. No, I knew that I wasn’t Eric’s, but did I want to be? At that moment I wasn’t sure, but I knew that if I was having these thoughts then I shouldn’t be going out on date with Quinn. I knew it wasn’t fair to any of us until I could resolve my feelings for Eric once and for all.

I must have been taking too long to respond because when I looked up, Eric had his trademark eyebrow up in question and Quinn was looking at me nervously.

“I’m sorry to do this, but Quinn, I can’t go out with you tonight.  I need to talk to Eric and resolve some things that are still between us.  I hope you understand," I said trying my best to easily let him down.

"I think I understand perfectly. Once a fang banging whore, always a fang banger whore," he snarled at me.  

Without even thinking, I took two steps forward and slapped him as hard as I could across his face!  I hadn't even registered what I'd done until I felt the stinging pain of my hand.  Pulling my injured hand against my body, I covered my gaping mouth with my other hand.

Looking to my left, I noticed Eric was in a defensive stance.  His fangs were still down, he was in a crouched stance, and his hands were curled into claws.  If that wasn't enough to scare Quinn, then the noises emanating from Eric should have, but Quinn wasn't scared of him at the moment.  He was staring daggers at me and they both looked ready to pounce; Quinn on me and Eric on Quinn.  I needed to stop this before there was any more bloodshed on my front lawn.

 

"Eric," I said in as steady of a tone as I could manage. He didn't respond, and it caused Quinn to start growling as I started moving toward him.  Eric crouched lower and the noises he was creating got louder.

"Eric, please," I begged.  The only response I received was a quick flick of his eyes toward me.  I moved even closer to him and placed my hand on his upper arm.  I could feel the muscle underneath my hand was taut as was the rest of his body.  

“Don’t do this,” I said as I moved my hand up his arm tightening my hold.  

As Eric turned to look at me, his features visibly softened and his stance straightened out.  

“Yeah, do what your blood whore says!” Quinn spat with venom.  

Eric growled, and before he could do anything, I lunged in front of him.  “Quinn, please go now.  I never meant to hurt you, but I didn’t think it would be fair to go on a date with you without resolving my issues with Eric.  Now that you’ve acted like such an asshole you can forget about ever going on a date with me.”

“I didn’t realize you were still into fangers.  I should have known,” he said shaking his head as he stepped off my porch and headed to his car.  His mind was a whirling mix of red rage.

“Wow.  I never would have agreed to go out with him if I knew he was anything like that,” I said looking up at Eric at the end.  “Would you like to come in and talk?”

He gave me a nod before going silently to the door and holding it open for me.

“Why were you going out on a date with him?” he asked once he’d crossed over the threshold.

“Can I get you a True Blood?” I asked as I headed into the kitchen to get myself a glass of sweet tea and a minute away from Eric. I had not planned on talking to him this night or any night if I was truthful with myself.

“Yes, thank you,” he replied from the doorway.  I guess I wasn’t going to get a minute to compose myself.

I quickly moved around the kitchen getting us drinks as I talked. “Why not go out on a date with him?” I shrugged.   “He’s a good looking guy who’s difficult for me to read, and he asked.  Nobody else was asking,” I shook my head, and then put his True Blood into the microwave.

“If I were to ask you out on a date, would you go?” he questioned from behind me.

“To tell you the truth, I don’t know,” I sighed and took his True Blood out of the microwave.  “Since you woke up from the witch’s curse, things have been different between us.”

I walked into the living room and sat down on my couch.  Eric followed, sitting down at the other end.  I handed him his True Blood, and took a drink of my sweet tea before placing it on the table.

As I was sitting back, Eric grasped my hand, inspecting it, before he got up and went into the kitchen.

He came back out and placed a towel filled with ice on my injured hand.

“Thank you, Eric.” I was surprised by his gesture and that he’d even thought that my hand could still be in pain from slapping Quinn.

He gave me a slight nod while looking me up and down.  “Do you think I care nothing for you?” he asked, surprising me.

“I think you care about me as an employee, about how I can help you out with my telepathy, and as a part of your retinue,” I said the last part with distaste and a slight scowl.

“You’re never go to get over that, are you?”

“I don’t like being anyone’s asset, Eric, and you know that.”

“I know, but you have to look at it from my point of view.  That’s the way it is in the supernatural community.  I don’t think of you as only a member of my retinue or an asset.  Surely you know that.”

“I know nothing of the sort.  I haven’t heard from you since we were New Orleans, and then when you want me to come see you about business you couldn’t even call yourself.  You can’t expect me to drop everything and come running whenever you call.  I don’t expect that with you.”

“Don’t you?” he asked with a look of disapproval on his face.  “I come whenever you call for me.  Always.  And you only call or come to me when you need something.  Maybe you should think about that.”

He turned in his seat and slowly drank his True Blood while I thought about what he had said.  I was astonished to find out that he was right.   I only called or went to see him when I needed help.

“You’re right,” I said after a few minutes.  Eric looked surprised that I had agreed.  “It’s wrong of me to only call or come see you when I need something.  Why would I expect any different?” He looked as if he was about to start talking so I held up my hand.  “But from the first moment we met, I was seeing Bill.”

“Don’t remind me,” he responded, finishing off his blood.

“We hadn’t been broken up that long, and then you were cursed.  After you came back as yourself, things have been strained between us, to say the least.”

Eric shook his head.  “I wish you would have told me the night I woke up what had happened between us.  Do you know why I wanted to know what happened so badly?” he asked looking at me with a storm of emotion in his eyes.

“You like to be in control and have to know everything,” I stated.

“I do like those things,” he said with a smirk, “but, no, that is not why I wanted to know.  After I woke up and you realized that I didn’t remember the week we had spent together, you were so sad. It was as if someone had died.”

“He did die,” I replied quietly.

“Who died?  I thought only the were-bitch died.”

“My Eric died,” I said softly, looking at my hands in my lap.

“I don’t know how I was with you when I was without my memories, but you obviously liked him much more than you do the real me,” he replied angrily.

“In some ways, yes, I did like him better than you.  You were so sweet,” I said before he interrupted me.

“I am not sweet.”

“When it suits you, you can be. You’ve shown me kindness that I haven't done anything to warrant, but when you had amnesia, you didn’t have this tough exterior blocking who I believe you are deep down in your soul. I was your whole world then. We talked for hours on end about everything and nothing,” I paused looking at him, watching as he took my words in.

“I also knew it wouldn’t last.  You offered to stay with me without your memories, but I couldn’t do that to you.  I know you have a whole Area of vampires who rely on you and businesses, employees.  You didn’t know what you were giving up and, no matter how much I loved that Eric, I couldn’t deprive you of a thousand years worth of memories.  I couldn’t be that selfish; it would have been in no way fair to you even if I did want to keep you.”

“Did you want to keep me?” He asked quietly, almost as if he was unsure that he wanted to know the answer.

“More than anything,” I replied sadly, thinking back to those few days we had together, back to our car ride to and from Shreveport the night of the Witch War.

“Could you ever want me as I am now?”  His voice was curious and more serious than I would have expected.

“I do like you, Eric, and I did miss the old you when you were cursed. There are so many more factors now, but I’d like to try to see if we could be something. I have stipulations though if you want to date or be in a relationship with me,” I answered turning toward him.

“Okay, and what would those be?” He asked with his lips tugging up into a faint smile.

“If we’re going to date then I expect for you to not have sex with anyone else and…”

“I’ll be faithful to you, of that you do not have to worry,” he said honestly.

“How long can you wait? I’ve heard of your reputation.”

Eric made a noise that sounded something like a mixture of a huff, a growl, and a groan, and then turned more fully toward me. “It is only that. A reputation.  It doesn’t mean it’s true.  Let me guess, it was Bill who told you of my ways,” He paused when I looked at him guiltily.   “Yes, I’ve had sex with numerous people throughout my long life, but that doesn’t mean I cannot be faithful to the only woman I have ever wanted or … wait?  Sookie, I’m failing to see why we’d have to wait. We’ve already had sex.”

“True, but our situation was different. You were different.”

"You're right.  I'm not that man you knew; I’m more.  He's still inside me, but you can bring him out."

Could my Eric still be in there?  

I knew I definitely wanted to get to know the man before me and if that other part of him really did still exist, maybe I could find it?  The possibility that I could have 'my' Eric back was thrilling, but I knew at best he would be a mix of who was sitting before me now, who he was when I first met him, and ‘my’ Eric.

The possibilities were endless and exciting. I couldn’t wait to get to know this Eric Northman.

“Someday I’d like for you to tell me about when you were human if that’s alright with you.” I couldn’t imagine the stories that Eric would have, what it was like living back then, what his family was like.

“Someday,” he replied as he leaned back against the couch crossing one ankle over his knee as his arm stretched out on the back. He was definitely making himself comfortable, and even though he was sitting on my Gran’s old flowered couch, he looked as if he belonged there; as if it was natural for him to be here with me.

“Any other stipulations?” He asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

“I know I probably have no right asking for this, but I know how closely related feeding and sex are, and the thought of you feeding off of another person…” I took a deep breath and slowly let it out.  

“I can’t stand the thought of your lips, your fangs on another’s skin.”

Eric grinned at my stated jealousy, but quickly became serious once again. “I am an old vampire, therefore, I do not have to consume very much blood to survive and, if it will put your mind at ease, I can drink True Blood and bagged donor blood until you feel that you’re willing to let me drink from you. Anything else?”

“You,” I said pointing at his chest, “will call me yourself. Don’t have Pam do it unless it's unavoidable.  As for the rest, I don’t know. I’m almost as inexperienced as you are in the dating world.  Bill’s the only boyfriend I’ve ever had and the closest thing he did to take me on a date was take me to Fangtasia.  At first, I saw him often, but then he slowly started to pull away from me and worked on that damn database all the time.  You know what happened next and to top it all off the whole relationship was fake. At least for him it was,” I said with my blood starting to boil.  It was true that I was still not over all that Bill had done to me, and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever forgive him.  “I’m sorry I shouldn’t be talking about Bill with you.”

“I am the one who’s sorry. I hated what Bill did to you and that I forced him to tell you that he was sent by the Queen.  I only wanted you to know the truth, and in doing so you were hurt,” Eric responded looking a mixture of anger and remorse.

“There was no way around me not being hurt, Eric, and, if it wasn’t for you, I probably never would have known. I doubt Bill was ever going to willingly tell me.  Can I ask you a question?” I asked. I needed to know the answer to my next question.

“Anything.” He gently took my hand in his and started to rub soothing circles on the back of my hand with his thumb.

It was a little sweet, but I wasn’t going to tell him. It would only make him stop, and feeling his thumb rub on the back on my hand was providing a comfort that I hadn’t felt since before my Gran died.

“When did you find out that the Queen sent Bill?”

“After he arrived in New Orleans.  He was almost frantically trying to find out when the Queen was going to see you, and it struck me as odd. I did some digging around and Rasul was the one who told me of his suspicions.  We could not prove it. There was no way I could question my Queen, but I knew I was right.  I am sorry I hurt you, Sookie.  Whether you believe it or not, I do care for you.  I might not show it in the way you expect, but this is all very new to me.  Even in my human days I didn’t date.”

“Thank you,” I replied, squeezing his hand. I could tell that he really didn’t like what had happened to me, and I didn’t blame him for what Bill had done.  I was also surprised that he was being so open.  It brought a small smile to my face.  Eric Northman actually admitted that he cares for me.  But why?  He could have anyone that he wanted, not some barmaid with no education.

“Sookie?” I heard Eric question.  I quickly looked up to see a pensive look on his face.  “What are you thinking about over there? One minute you’re angry, then happy, and now somewhere between sad and contemplative.”

I wasn’t sure I was ready to share how I felt unworthy of Eric, so I put a smile on my face and changed the subject hoping that he would forget about my rapidly changing moods.

“I will continue to help you with my telepathy if you need me, but I’d like some advance notice if it is at all possible.”

Eric gave me an odd look, but didn’t mention the subject change.  Instead he trailed his fingers along the back of my neck until he reached my hairline, and then slowly started running his fingers through the hair at the nape of my neck. “I will try my best, but surely you must know that circumstances arise that need more immediate action, but I will never force you to help me.  It will be up to you and I will pay you for your assistance.”

It sounded fair, so I nodded my head in agreement.

“One more thing. At least for now,” I stated nervously. Who knew what I’d think of once he was no longer here or later down the line?  We both were truly new to dating although I didn’t really feel as if stating conditions on my telepathy had anything to do with dating, but I wanted to put it all out there while I had a chance.

Eric’s only response was a curious lift of his eyebrow.

“I want to stay out of vampire politics as much as possible.  All supernatural politics would be nice.”

I watched as Eric gave me an appraising look before he spoke. I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to like what he had to say.  Was he trying to decide my emotional state? Was he afraid that I was going to freak out on him?

“I understand not wanting to be in the supernatural world. It is a dangerous place and I will do everything in my power to keep you safe and out of the fray of politics, but,” I nodded. I knew there would be a but in there somewhere.  “Now that the Queen has requested you at the summit in Rhodes, there will be many vampires there and there’s a high possibility that many will learn of your gift. I’m afraid once your cousin opened her mouth to the Queen and let her know of your abilities you were always going to be brought into my world,” Eric said with sympathetic eyes.

With a heavy sigh, I rubbed my eyes for a moment before returning my attention back to Eric.

“I was afraid of that.  All I’ve ever wanted was to be normal and when Bill walked into Merlotte’s and I couldn’t hear his thoughts, I thought I was finally getting my chance at normalcy,” I confessed.  “Except it didn’t bring anything normal into my life.  The whole town thought I was stupid for associating with, and then dating a vampire. Then there’s all the added danger that has been brought into my life.  Hell, upon meeting Bill, I was beaten outside of Merlotte’s. If Bill hadn’t been there to give me his blood, I’m sure I would have died that night; since then been almost drained, raped, and I’ve killed two people.  I’m now a murderer,” I whispered as tears stung my eyes.

Eric’s hand stilled and his body stiffened briefly before pulling me to his side and wrapping his arm around my shoulders, letting me cry.

I didn’t cry for long. I knew how much Eric hating seeing women cry, or at least me, so I tried to compose myself as best as I could.  I dried my eyes and cheeks with the arm of my shirt and sniffed a couple of times so that I wouldn’t have snot running out of my nose. I was pretty sure that Eric would find that human function disgusting.

Once I was composed, I looked up at Eric with a small smile of thanks for once again comforting me.  His thumb brushed away a tear that had escaped the swipe of my sleeve.

“I despise all that has happened to you since you’ve been brought into my world.  I promise to protect you and make sure no one hurts you ever again with the best of my ability, and that you never have to be put in the position to kill another soul.” He brushed a strand of hair from my face and tucked it behind my ear. “Enough talk about upsetting things.  Let’s talk about this date that we are to go on.  When are you available?  I will be very busy up until we leave for the summit, but I will make sure to set aside a night or two for our date,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.

A giggle escaped before I even realized the broad smile upon my face.  Eric somehow always knew how to cheer me up.  It was crazy that he really seemed to get me.  I wondered if I’d ever feel like I truly understood him.

“Seeing as how you haven’t asked me on said date, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I replied with a mischievous smile.

Eric’s eyes flashed to mine before a smirk graced his face.  “I see.  I’m terribly sorry that I seemed to have not asked you on a proper date.  Should I go outside and knock on the door?”

I could only shake my head so that I didn’t laugh out loud, even though I knew that Eric could feel exactly what I was feeling.

Slipping off the couch, Eric got down on one knee and grasped my hands in one of his large, cool hands.

“Sookie, would you please do me the honor of accompanying me on a date in the very near future?”

I couldn’t help it; a burst of laughter escaped and I clamped a hand over my mouth.

“Eric, you only get down on one knee when you’re proposing marriage.  Not for a date.”

“I think this will be a very important date and that it merits me getting down on one knee,” he replied with a smirk.

Truth be told, I was a little nervous that he thought this date was important.  I mean what if we found out that we really didn’t like each other?  Although I highly doubted it.  We had been around each other enough to know that we liked each other.  I even loved him. My Eric.

“Don’t overthink it, Sookie.  There’s no reason to be nervous.  It’s only me,” he said quietly as he looked at me earnestly.

“There’s a lot to be nervous about when it involves you, Eric Northman, but, yes, I will go out on this very important date.  The next night I have off is Sunday.”

“What a coincidence.  Fangtasia’s closed on Sundays.  The only business that I have that night is the business that I came tonight to discuss with you.  We are having a meeting about the summit and I need for you to attend.  Afterward we can go on our date.  Or we can go another night that you have off. I’m sure Pam can cover for me for a few hours.”

“After the meeting is fine.  I know you’re busy.”

“Excellent. Unfortunately, I need to get back.  I have much to do to prepare for the summit. I’ll call you in a couple of days.”

Eric stood, stretching to his full height, before picking up my hand to help me stand. He didn’t let go of it as we made our way to the front door. Turning toward me, he softly brushed his lips against mine.

“This is the beginning,” he whispered against my lips. He dropped my hand and made his way out of the porch.  Just before he was getting ready to take off into the night sky he raised his hand in a wave and gave me a wink.

Dating Eric Northman would definitely be interesting and I couldn’t wait to see where this journey would take us.

 

  
  
  
  
  
  


 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2 – The Surreptitious Sniff

**SPOV**

What does one wear on a date with Eric Northman? While I'm sure he'd like to see me in next to nothing, that's not how I rolled. Yes, I wanted to look good for him, but I didn't want to look desperate, plus Eric had already seen me looking my worst on more than one occasion.

Tara's Togs was where I decided to go shopping for a new outfit. Maybe I could even wear it at one of the events at the Summit. It wasn't that long ago Tara had called me and left a message saying she had put aside a few outfits she thought I'd like that were on sale.

In no time at all I had cleaned up my lunch before heading out. It didn't take long to reach Tara's shop. When I walked in, she was at the register with another customer.

I decided to look around and see if anything caught my eye. Luckily her shop held a little bit of everything, though sadly most of it was out of my price range. I didn't want to spend most of my paycheck on an outfit for one date, even if it was with Eric.

It was definitely time for me to do more with my life than being a waitress. I wasn't sure how much longer I could take the bigoted thoughts of the people in my town.  Fortunately, I already had enough money saved to get the Internet at my house, and almost had enough to buy myself a computer. Once I had everything all set up I was going to enroll to get my Associates in Arts degree online. I figured by the time I started taking classes I'd find something I liked and decide on my degree then.

The moment Tara was done with her customer, she came over to where I was looking at some dresses with a big smile on her face and immediately gave me a hug. Tara was one of the few people I didn't mind having physical contact with.

"So you finally found time to visit me," Tara said with a grin.

"I'm sorry it took me so long. I've been busy, but that's no excuse."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. I understand. Did you come to see what I put aside for you?" She asked, dramatically wiggling her eyebrows which caused me to laugh.

"I did. I have a date on Sunday and was hoping to find something to wear," I replied shyly.  I wasn't sure how Tara would react if she found out it was a vampire, or better yet Eric.

Although she shouldn't think too badly about Eric, he did get her out of that mess with Mickey. A shudder ran through my entire body just thinking about him. I was happy he was out of Tara's life. Unfortunately, it left a bad taste in her mouth about all other vampires.

"Why don't you go head to the dressing room and I'll grab what I pulled out for you.  I’m sure there’s something you’ll like for your date," Tara said as she started toward the back.

Tara returned with her arms ladened with an array of clothes.  After she had hung up and placed each item in the room, she helped me decide what I should try on first.

"So... Are you going to tell me who you're going on a date with? I doubt it's anyone from around here," she asked while helping me zip up.

"No one from around here. He's from Shreveport," I replied, still unsure of what her reaction would be.

"Hmm... I don't know many people from there. Do I know him?" She asked, pulling out a black skirt and red silky blouse.

"Actually you do. You remember Eric, right?"

"Hot, blond, and deadly?"

I nodded as I checked myself out in the mirror.

"That might be the outfit, but try the rest on before you decide," she said with an approving look. "How could I forget about him? He's the one who finally got rid of Mickey. I'll be forever grateful to him for that. "

Tara smiled as she took in the navy dress I now had on.

"I like that one too," she commented while straightening the hem.

"I don't know how I'm going to choose. Maybe I'll have to get them both. We'll see," I said as I took it off to try on the last outfit. It wouldn't hurt to get two. I was pretty sure there'd more than one date with Eric and I could wear both to the summit.  Seemed like a win-win in my book.

"Do you know what you're going to be doing on this date?" She asked, setting aside the two outfits I liked.

"I have no clue.” I replied with a shrug. “Eric’s supposed to call in a couple of days, so I figured I'd ask him then. He’s just as inexperienced in dating as I am so it should be interesting."

"I can't imagine him having a hard time finding someone to date. I mean he's gorgeous,” Tara said before slapping her hand across her mouth. "I'm sorry, Sookie, but it's true. As does everyone else and he probably knows it too."

"It's okay,” I sighed. “I do know that everyone thinks he’s gorgeous, and boy, does he know it! I don't think his ego could get any bigger."

"Well, you're pretty hot yourself,” Tara said with a pointed look.  “Especially in that dress. Hey! Do you remember that time when we both were at the same club in Jackson and we ended up doing our old high school dance talent show routine?" She asked, laughing as she remembered it. She was thinking about it so hard that I didn't know if I would have been able to block her if I wanted.

"How could I forget? We gave them quite the show," I managed to get out in between laughs.

Our laughter filled the dressing room and once we calmed down we headed to the register. Now I had to decide if I was going to buy only one or both outfits.

"You really like him, don't you?" She asked.

"I do, but it's so complicated. It's a long story, and you probably have to get back to work."

"I have time. I'm always here if you need me.  Lay it on me," she said with a laugh, but her face was serious.

We sat down in the chairs that were in front of her computer where she did wedding consultations.  Tara sat quietly as I explained what happened when Eric had his amnesia, how he woke up without remembering, and all that had happened since then. Every once in a while she'd stop me to ask me a question. Never once was she negative about my feelings for Eric.

With brown eyes full of sympathy, Tara let out a low whistle. “That is complicated. It's obvious you still like him, and it sounds as if he likes you from what I know about vampires.  What you need to do is forget about what everyone thinks, and go by how you feel and what he brings to your life. Good and bad," Tara said with a knowing smile.  

I didn't know how long I sat with my mouth hanging open. I didn't close it until Tara started laughing and wiping her eyes.

"How? What?" I questioned.

"I know you better than you think, and I also know that you're better than this small town. You always have been."

I couldn't speak. I was beyond overwhelmed by her words. Very rarely did I hear positive things about myself. Actually, the only ones who were positive about me and my ability were Eric and Pam.

"How close are you to enrolling in online classes?" She asked, sensing how overcome I'd become.

"Almost..." I cleared my throat. “Almost there. I have a big job to do for some vampires that's coming up and once I get paid, it will put me over by quite a bit. I plan to enroll next semester," I replied proudly.

"That's great, just don't forget about me," she joked.

"That would be impossible. You know that. Now that you know I'm going on a date with Eric, let's talk about your dating life. Have you been on any dates recently?"

"Actually I have. It's still pretty new, but J.B. and I have been out on a few dates," she told me shyly.

"You and J.B.? I had no idea that you even liked him." I was stunned, but happy for her. She needed someone nice after her ordeal with Mickey.

Tara shrugged her shoulders and smiled shyly. "You know how sweet he is and he's damn fine looking, so when he asked me out one day as I was getting ready to leave the gym, I said yes. It's still new, but he treats me the way I've always wanted a guy to treat me. What more could I want?"

I wanted to say brains because J.B. was about as smart as a tack, but who was I to judge, especially after how encouraging she was when I told her about Eric.

"Nothing. It sounds perfect. I'm so happy for you. Well, I guess I should probably check out so I can get on home and get ready for my shift.  We definitely need to get together more often. I missed talking to you."

I forgot how good it felt to talk and hang out with her since we were both so busy.

"Definitely. Who knows maybe things will work out between you and Eric, and we can go on a double date. Can you imagine?" She asked with a laugh.

I couldn't help but laugh along with her. First of all, I couldn't imagine what a date with Eric would be like, but going on a double date with Tara and J.B. was impossible.

"So have you decided which outfit you're going to get for your date tonight?" she asked as we walked up to the register.

"I think so, and I'm going to buy both of them and hope that there will be more than one date with Eric in my future," I answered.

"I know there will be," she said with a smile, but as she rung up my purchases it quickly slipped away. "Um... I don't know if you know this or not, but a few days ago a blonde vampire came in here and opened an account for you."

"What?! Do you know who?" I asked with frustration leaking out with my voice.

"I think her name was Pam. I could check if you want me to," she squeaked out.

"No need," I said between gritted teeth. "I have an idea who it was and I'll be confronting him very soon."

"Eric?" Tara asked.

"The one and only. He's the only one I can think that would be high-handed enough to do this," I replied with a huff.

"So I'm guessing you don't want your purchases on the account then," she stated.

"There is no way in hell he's paying for what I'm going to wear on our date. If there will even be one after this."

"Don't cut him off yet. Talk to him first at least. I'm sorry, Sookie"

"It's not your fault and don't worry, I'll be talking to him as soon as I get home from work," I promised.

"Okay. Don't be a stranger. I want to hear what kind of date that vampire takes you on," Tara said as she handed my bag to me.

"I will. Thank you for all your help. I'll talk to you soon," I replied as I gave her a quick goodbye hug.

I was still fuming as I made my way home.  There was no way in hell I was letting Eric pay for my clothes. Is that what he thought I wanted from him? I was definitely going to have to set him straight.

Debating on whether I should go see him after work or if a call would do to get my point across, I didn't even realize that my front door was wide open until I was lifting my keys up to unlock the door.

Quickly scanning my surroundings, I didn't pick anyone up in or around my house. Still, even knowing there was no one there I quietly walked into my house to find it ransacked.

Everything, and I mean everything, was turned on its side or upside down.  Books, magazines, newspapers, knick-knacks, and framed pictures were scattered all over the place. When I stepped into the kitchen even my food from the refrigerator was on the counters and littered all over the floor.

Who would do this? I thought as I walked down the hall to my bedroom. A sob escaped me as I peeked into my room. It looked as if a tornado had hit it. My bed was ripped apart with stuffing and springs coming out from huge gashes that were ripped through the mattress. All the drawers had been ripped from my dresser and water was starting to seep into the room from the broken sink that had been split down the middle.

I quickly turned off the water valve before high tailing it out of my house. There was no way I could stay here. I was scared out of my mind. Who was after me now?  Why couldn’t my life be simple?

Trying to lock the front door, but realizing it was busted, I think I went into a state of shock. All I remember was getting in my car and heading toward Shreveport. The next thing I knew I was being shown into Eric's office by Ginger.

"Master should be here soon. Is there anything I can get you while you wait?" She asked with an honest smile.

Shaking my head, I decided to lay down on the couch while I waited. Curling myself into a ball, I closed my eyes, and wrapped my arms around my knees, hoping it would stop my body from shaking.

I must have fallen asleep because when I opened my eyes, I could only see two cerulean orbs staring back at me.

"What an unexpected surprise to find you in my office. Could you not wait until our date to see me again?" Eric asked with a smirk.

I shot off the couch and threw myself at Eric's crouched form. I must have taken him by surprise because we found ourselves sprawled out on his office floor.

**EPOV**

What the hell? When Ginger informed me that Sookie was waiting for me in my office, to say I was surprised would be an understatement. Not that I was going to complain, I was always happy to see Sookie and if she was going to take the initiative, that only made it better.

But when she threw herself at me so unexpectedly, I was so shocked that my reflexes didn’t even have time to work.  We found ourselves laying on the floor, not that I minded.  At least not at first.

The second my arms wrapped around Sookie’s small frame, she clutched herself to my body and started to cry into my neck.  I quickly moved us onto the couch and tried to calm her down.

“Sookie, whatever it is, you’re safe with me.  I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise,” I spoke soothingly as I rubbed a hand down her back.  “You know how I hate to see you cry, please tell me what’s wrong so that I may fix it.”

Nothing I said seemed to help. I couldn’t remember the last time I tried to console someone.  Perhaps it was my human daughter, but from what little I could remember she had never been this inconsolable.  I started to sing a lullaby that I had heard many of the women sing around my village. When Sookie’s fingers made their way into my hair and started to twirl it around, I was relieved that something had started to work.  By the time I was finished with what I remembered of the song she had stopped crying.

I decided that I would keep quiet, try to let her formulate what she wanted to say, and was left wondering if I was going to have to kill anybody.

It didn't take her long before she slowly sat up, and it took every ounce of my control when I felt her heat straddling my cock. Now was definitely not the time.

Sookie sniffed and used the sleeve of her shirt of wipe her tear-stained cheeks before her head slowly tilted up to look at me.  When our eyes finally met she had a small, but sad, smile on her face.

“That was beautiful. I didn’t know you could sing,” she said somewhat shyly.

“Thank you. It’s not something anyone would know for I haven’t sang since my human days,” I explained.

“Why? You have a wonderful voice and I think you should use it.”

“Now is not the time to get into such silly things.  I want to know what had you so upset when you first saw me.  You are unharmed,” I stated.

I hadn’t found any trace of blood in the air or any marks on her body from what I’d seen.

“No one has hurt me,” she said, her lower trembling. “At least not yet.” Tears started to slowly trail down her cheeks, and I didn’t know what to do with the crying woman in my lap.  I did the only thing I could do. I wrapped my arms around her, pulled her against me, tucked her head underneath my chin, and started to sing once again.

Luckily, this time it didn't take her long to calm down. Although I did hate when she slowly extricated herself from my lap, but if that meant no more tears then I could deal with it.

Wanting a body to be against mine was entirely new to me.  I didn't mind it so much when I was fucking some fangbanger for my release, but I tried to keep it minimal. Sookie didn't need to know how much she affected me. Did she realize how differently I was with her?

"I'm sorry for breaking down on you," she said, looking from under her wet eyelashes before placing her hand on my chest. "It seems I'm always ruining your shirts.”

"There's nothing to be sorry about. My shirts are of no consequence. Now explain to me why you think someone may hurt you so that I may rectify the problem. I meant what I said, I won't let anyone harm you," I said with my jaw clenched just thinking about someone hurting her.

"I know," she said. "I believe you. Earlier today I went to buy an outfit for our date.”

A smirk spread across my face knowing that she had gone out to buy something special for our date.  However, it quickly disappeared when I saw the angry set to her face.

"Later we'll be talking about why you," she said, digging her finger into my chest, "set up an account for me. I will not be accepting any such thing from you."

Always jumping to conclusions. Maybe she'll feel differently when she knows why it was set up, but logically that probably won't happen knowing Sookie like I do.

"Yes, later. Now explain." Why was she being so difficult?  My patience was slowly fading. I needed to know why she was so upset and she kept crying, and now she was mad at me.

Would life ever be easy with Sookie?

Doubtful, but she was worth it. I did know that. Crossing her arms over her chest. I tried not to notice as her plentiful breasts were heaved upward, but it was hard, in more ways than one.

"Anyway, I went home to put away my purchases and get ready for work. Oh no! I forgot about work. I've got to call Sam and let him know I'll be late or not coming in at all," she cried out, scurrying around looking for something.

"Can I use your phone? It seems I left my purse and phone in the car?" She asked, looking strained.

I almost wanted to laugh. I didn't care about the shifter. Personally I'd be more than happy if she wasn't working there. As far as I was concerned, she could get fired for not showing up, but I knew he wouldn't fire her. Not when he wanted her and thought he had a chance.

I motioned for her to use the phone and waited even longer to find out what the hell had happened. Crossing my arms over my chest, I sat impatiently as Sookie tried to evade answering the shifter's questions.

When Sookie finally hung up the phone she at least felt guilty. Perhaps she finally noticed my frustration or maybe she noticed how busy I was. I hadn't even begun to sort through all the emails for the summit yet. The amount of work that this summit was causing left me with very little free time and I was lucky to be able to reserve Sunday for our date. I had much to do so that I'd be ready when Andre showed up for the meeting.

"I'm sorry, Eric. I know you're busy and I'll get out of your hair after I explain." Sookie moved to one of the chairs in front of my desk and squared her shoulders.

"So... I noticed when I went to unlock the door that it was already opened." Really? "I scanned to make sure no one was in the house or close by, and when I knew it was clear I went in."

At least she checked and showed some self-preservation. Only then did I notice that Sookie had stopped talking and was close to tears again.  Slipping two fingers under her warm chin, I tilted her face so that she would look at me.

“You are safe here,” I firmly reassured her and she regarded me for a moment before she softly whispered.

“I know, Eric.”

My thumb ghosted over her jaw line.  “What happened?”

She pressed her lips together and sniffed before she continued, “My whole house was ransacked. Everything was turned upside down or thrown, even my bedroom. They tore my bed up and broke my sink."

That definitely got my attention. Who would do that to Sookie? It was hard to tell without surveying it for myself. She was always in some sort of trouble.

"What do you mean they tore up your bed? Do you have anything in your house that you know of that would make someone break into your house to steal?" I questioned. There were too many unknowns.

"No, you've seen my house. I have nothing that anyone would want."

Except everyone wanted Sookie. I had no idea how she could never see all the males that wanted her.

"Now that I think about it, it looked like huge claw marks on my bed. The springs and stuffing were showing. I didn't know what to do. The next thing I knew I was here. Who would destroy my home?" She painfully asked.

That I didn't know, but I did know that my chest puffed out slightly knowing that she instinctively come to me. She knew she was safe with me and that I'd help her.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out. Give me twenty minutes. I need to make some arrangements before we leave."

“Okay,” she said quietly and set her hands in her lap.

“If you’d like a drink before we leave there should be someone at the bar who can help you. I won’t be long.”

Nodding her head, Sookie got up and made her way to the door before she turned back to look at me. “Thank you, Eric, for helping me.”

“Always. I’ll come get you when I’m done,” I said before pulling out my phone and texting Thalia to let her know I needed her to be on the floor tonight. Although she had a weird following, I didn't care. When word got out that she was at Fangtasia, they all showed up trying to get a picture of her smiling. That was never going to happen. I’d known Thalia for close to six hundred years and never once had I seen a smile on her face.

Next I called Pam and informed her that I needed for her to cover for me. I had no idea how long I’d be gone tonight. If I needed to I could always go through my emails at home or on my phone, but I really didn’t want to. I was already working from almost sundown to sunup as it was.  Maybe I should file for a petition to go on vacation after the summit was over.  I certainly deserved one.

Pam had no problem coming in to help once she found out that someone or someones had broken into Sookie’s house.  I was lucky that Pam liked Sookie as much as she did; otherwise, I’d hate to think of how ugly it could get between the two of them.

Not knowing if I’d make it back or not, I did have to look through the papers on my desk to see if there was anything important, and go through my email to see if there was anything from the Queen or any sheriff business that I needed to take care of immediately.  Luck must have been in my favor tonight because I only had one email that required my immediate attention.  

After shutting down my computer and putting my paperwork away, I made my way out to the bar to find Sookie.  The bar was empty since it wouldn’t open for another hour. Normally I wouldn’t be here this early but much had changed with Hurricane Katrina and the upcoming summit. After the hurricane, I had an influx of vampires in my Area whom I would normally not allow to live here due to their penchant for not following rules, but the Queen had issued a demand to all of her sheriffs that we must take in any and all that vampires from the Areas that were affected by the hurricane into our Area for the time being.

Sookie sat perched on a barstool, sipping what I was sure was a gin and tonic as she listened to Ginger babble on and on about who knows what.  Deciding that I’d save her from having to listen to another word from Ginger, I made my way over to the bar.

“Sookie, we need to get going,” I stated, holding my arm out in the direction of the office.  

“Sure.  Um…” She looked out toward the front and then back at me, indecision warring in her eyes.

“What do you need, Sookie?” I asked, stepping toward the hallway.

“Can I get my purse and phone out of my car?” She asked nervously.  

Was I being too impatient?

“We’ll stop by your car on the way out of the parking lot so that you may get your items. Come,” I said as I put my hand on her lower back and guided her out the door.

OoOoO

It was a quiet ride on the ways to Sookie’s.  She sat biting her fingernails and looking out the window as I tried to figure out why anyone would be after Sookie at the moment.  It didn’t take long to get there since I was driving. It pleased me that Sookie didn’t fight me on her driving or wanting to take her car.

The first thing I noticed was Sookie’s front door was standing wide open, and when I opened my door the air smelled overwhelmingly of Weres.  There had been two or more, but it was hard to tell outside.  I’d have more luck once I was inside.

Seeing Sookie’s door start to open, I quickly made my way over to her side. After promising to keep her safe I wasn't going to take any chances.

Sookie wasn't over-exaggerating when she described the state of her house.  It was a mess. What she didn't describe was the damage to the walls to a few of the rooms. The food that had been thrown around her kitchen was starting to smell foul.  

As we walked into her bedroom, I noticed that Sookie's eyes started to tear up and I had a feeling that what I had to say next was going to be the cause of them spilling over.

From the moment I walked in, I knew that two Weres were responsible for the destruction, but the new evidence I had found was the kicker.

A black pen with gold lettering on it. Gold letters that said EEE, and to make matters worse, the tiger's scent was all over it.

"Sookie," I called to her as I walked up behind her. Placing my hands on her shoulders I broke the news, "It's not safe for you to stay here right now."

Slowly she spun around to face me, wrapping her arms around her body as she looked at the claw marks that punctured the dry wall.

"The ones who broke into your house and caused all of this devastation," I explained, pointing to her bed. "Are Weres and this," I said, holding up the pen for her to view. "Smells strongly of your date from the other night," I growled.

Her eyes grew wide as she took a step toward me, "Quinn?"

"Yes, the tiger."

"Do you think he was responsible for..."

Just as I thought, her eyes welled up more than before and tears started to quickly rain down her cheeks.  

How many times would I have to witness her cry in one night? I would try to do everything within my power to only make her smile.

"I do. I don't know why, but I will find out. I don’t know if he sent someone here to do all this because he felt jilted or for far worse reasons. Until I know more, I'd feel better if you were not here alone. You're too far from me in Bon Temps for me to protect you. I'd prefer if you stayed with me until I can assure your safety,” I explained calmly. I was prepared for an epic Sookie throw down.  Instead she stood gaping like a fish at me until she started to look around the room with a frown.

“Can I pack a few things?” She asked quietly looking at the floor.

Placing my index finger underneath her chin I slowly raised her head until our eyes met. “Get whatever you need. I need to let Pam know that I won’t be coming back tonight, and to have someone come to clean and repair your house while you’re gone.”

I was shocked that Sookie hadn’t fought me on leaving.  Maybe she was in shock. Tomorrow night she’d probably be fighting me to come home.

“You really don’t have to do all this for me, Eric. I don’t want to owe you…”

I stopped her. Did she really think that everything I did for her was so that she would be in my debt?

“Sookie, you owe me nothing, never have and never will. I am doing this because I want to and because I can, nothing more. Now go get your things while I make my calls.”

Pulling out my phone, I sat down on Sookie’s bed and watched her go into her closet to get a suitcase and start packing.

My first call was to Pam to let her know that I wouldn’t be back and that I’d catch up on my emails at home.  Although she wasn’t happy that I wouldn’t be doing my duty of sitting on that damn throne she understood.  Sookie was the only human that Pam liked, and she had become protective over her.  Pam was constantly giving me tips from Dear Abby on how to deal with Sookie.  Maybe now that Sookie and I were going to try this dating thing she’d be happy.

Next I sent Alcide a detailed email explaining that I wanted him to send a cleanup crew to Sookie’s house, and then have someone to repair the damage.  It wouldn’t take long to fix the walls, but the front door would need to be replaced, and I wanted to replace it with a much stronger door than then the one she had now and while I was at it, I might as well replace the back door.  I wanted her house to be as secure as possible.  Maybe I should have a security system put in.  Perhaps a secure light-tight chamber under her house.  There was no way I’d be staying in that shoebox of a closet again.  I could only remember rising one night in it and that was enough for a lifetime.  Plus it smelled of Bill.

It was better to ask forgiveness than to get Sookie’s permission. She would never agree to all the changes I wanted made. I hoped she wouldn’t stay mad at me for long, and Alcide could get it all done quickly.

After sending off the email to Alcide, I stretched out on Sookie’s bed as I watched her sort through the clothes on the floor and place them in her suitcase.  Once she went into her bathroom to finish up her packing, I turned on my side, brushed away the clumps of stuffing and a spring that was in my way, and caught Sookie’s scent.  Somehow her pillow had seemed to bottle up her unique scent of sunshine and all that was Sookie.  Burying my nose into her pillow, I inhaled deeply. I couldn’t get enough.

Sunshine, wheat, honey, and other.  

I didn’t know what she was, but Sookie was certainly not all human.  No human smelled or tasted that good and add in her telepathy, she was definitely other.  Once the summit was over I’d start trying to figure out what.

Not wanting Sookie to witness me surreptitiously sniffing her pillow, I decided to take one final discreet inhale to last me until she left her intoxicating scent in my home.

What I wasn’t expecting when I inhaled was my own scent or the way my vision blurred.  I hadn’t experience anything like it since my human days when I had drank too much mead. I lay stunned until Sookie’s face came into my peripheral with a worried look on her face.

“Are you okay?” she asked concerned.

“I’m… well.  Why do you ask?”

Getting off her bed, I grabbed her suitcase and made my way to the living room. Before leaving, I secured the front door until it could be replaced and walked Sookie out to my car. After placing her bag in the trunk, I took one final look at her house.

What happened in her room? In that house?

I shook my head at the odd sensation.  I needed to get Sookie to my house where she’d be safe and could relax.  With all the stress of the day she looked like she was on the verge of falling asleep at any moment.

Like the drive to Sookie’s, the drive to my house was made in silence. I was wondering if Sookie knew that she was the first person I’d ever invited to my home.  The only people who had been there were Pam and Bobby. Pam I wanted there, but Bobby was out of necessity.  

I had just pulled onto the highway when a cascade of images started to flash before me. Unprepared for the onslaught of emotions and images from the week that I had lost, I slammed on the brakes as a searing pain ripped through my head causing me to pant through the memories.

   
  


When the images finally faded, Sookie’s hysterical voice calling my name over and over again brought me out of my now confused state.  Slowly I turned my head toward her as I steeled my face and emotions.  

“Are you okay?” she asked with concern as she tentatively reached over to place her hand over my own that was on the steering wheel.

Pulling my hand out from under hers, I ran it through my hair as I looked out the windshield. At that moment all I could do was nod my head. I needed to get us to my house so that I could process what I had just experienced and sort through the flood of memories.

“Are you sure you’re okay?  I could drive if you want.”

Sookie had seen too much.  I needed some space to work through… What the fuck just happened?  “Reign it in," I said to myself. "I'll deal with this when I get home.”

“Thank you, but I’m fine," I replied with my jaw clenched.  "I didn’t mean to cause you more stress this evening.  Sit back and relax. It won't take us long to reach my house."

"If you're sure?" She asked with concern.

My response was only a nod as my hands tightened their grip on the steering wheel.

The rest of our journey I was on autopilot. The images, feelings, and words that were spoken during my time with Sookie continued to swirl around not only in my head, but also my cold dead heart.

It wasn't feeling very cold or dead in that moment though.

Once we reached my house, we remained silent as I helped Sookie out of the car, retrieved her bags, unlocked the door leading from the garage into the house, and put in my security code.

I stood watching as Sookie took in the kitchen and peered into the living room. The kitchen was updated, but there was nothing on the countertops or in the cupboards except a microwave. There were only different types of bloods in the refrigerator, no food whatsoever. I was going to have to send Bobby for some groceries for Sookie while she was here.

The vibrating in my pocket hadn't quit since our abrupt stop on the side of the road. I knew it was Pam, and she was worried about what she was feeling from me. She knew I wasn't in danger, only that she couldn't place what I was feeling or why.

Welcome to the club!

Whipping out my phone, I sent her a text letting her know that we had made it to my house safely and I would talk to her tomorrow night. Maybe by then I'd have wrapped my head around the influx of a week's worth of memories that could very well change my existence. If I let them.

Toeing off my boots, I gestured to Sookie's worn white tennis shoes.

"No shoes in the house," I said a little more gruffly than intended.

Nodding her head, Sookie looked at me with sadness. It didn't help that I could feel that she felt dejected, worried, and confused. She probably thought I didn't want her here with the way I'd been acting, but I needed time. She'd have to understand.

"Let me give you the tour and show you where you'll be sleeping. This is the kitchen. There's nothing for you at the moment, but I'll have my day man pick up some food and bring it by the time you wake."

"I don't want to be any trouble. Let me know what I owe and I'll pay you back."

"You are my guest here. No arguing," I added, knowing she'd want to fight me on it. She stayed quiet as she followed me.

"This is the living room," I said as I swept my arm out as we passed. "This room Pam uses as an extra closet, this is a bathroom, bedroom, and bedroom. You can choose whichever one you want, they both have an attached bathroom."

"Is that your bedroom?" Sookie asked as she pointed down the hall to the double doors.

"Yes," It was technically my bedroom. She didn't need to know I'd be in an underground chamber.

"I guess I'll take this one," she said, indicating the room closest to mine.

Opening up the door, I placed her bags on the bed and started to walk out the door until Sookie's small warm hand on my arm stopped me.

"Eric?" She said, looking up at me from underneath her long lashes.

Putting my hands on her shoulders, I looked down at her. "Feel free to look around tomorrow when you get up. Nothing is off limits. I know you’re tired, so I'll leave you to rest."

Closing her door I made my way out to the backyard where I gathered some firewood. I needed to clear my head, and building a fire and watching its flames had always brought a level of calm I found nowhere else. Even in my human days.

Once the fire was lit, I sat down and let it warm my body as I tried to make sense of the memories that had stormed through me at break neck speed earlier.

Sookie finding me on the side of the road when I didn't know who or where I was. Knowing in my blood that I could trust her with keeping me safe and later with my heart. Feeling like I should know her, Sookie cleaning my feet, taking care of me, being uncertain and going to her that first night, holding her hand, talking in front of the fire, the shower, the sex, the meeting at Merlotte's, the war, not being able to find her afterward, desperate to be with her, going back to her home, getting shot to protect Sookie, and cleaning up Debbie’s remains. Rising the next night not remembering what had happened and Sookie's excitement when she first came into the room, only for it to plummet when she knew I no longer remembered and the way she always felt this strange mix of longing, mourning, and anger when she saw me with each encounter afterward.

I couldn't stop the memories from running in a loop over and over.

We were happy, if not in love, and Sookie had given all of it up for me to regain my memories. I was unsure if I would have been selfless enough if I had been in the same situation.

What I couldn't get over was how happy I was. I couldn't remember being that happy in all of my existence.

I understood Sookie's anger and why it hurt her to be near me. Especially with the way I treated her when I wanted to know what had happened during the time I couldn't remember. Now I understood why my own feelings had grown so unexpectedly after I rose that night.

How could she forgive me and be willing to date me now?

Would Sookie ever love me for who I am? I knew without a doubt she loved him, my amnesiac self.

Could I strip myself bare for Sookie? Let her see that deep down I was that man who had stayed with her, only now I was more. Now I was a vampire who had learned to harden himself, and to only feel anger and lust to survive. I could never describe to her what I had been through with my maker to make her understand why I had erected the walls I had over the centuries.

Feeling a warm hand on my shoulder jerked me to the here and now. To Sookie.

"I'm sorry," she stuttered as I whipped my head toward her. "I was coming out to get a glass of water, but I saw you sitting here. You looked lost. Is everything okay, Eric?"

Still unable to speak, I nodded once.

"Do you mind?" She asked, indicating the space beside me.

Shaking my head, I returned my gaze back to the gentle fire, waiting for it to bring my calm. Only this time it wasn't the fire, but Sookie that finally made the memories stop and for my mind to clear.

Even though I knew she needed her rest, I was too selfish to tell her to go to bed. I let her sit beside me where she eventually rested her head on my shoulder and stared at the fire with me.

It was similar to our time when I wasn't myself, but this felt more.

After an hour of silence Sookie quietly told me goodnight before she rose from her spot on the floor.  When she reached the hallway was when I finally spoke to her. Wide, innocent eyes looked back at me, and I heard her heart skip a beat when I finally spoke.

"I remember.  I remember everything."


	3. Tveksamt Ambitioner

# 

SPOV

"I remember. I remember everything."

I stood there in shock. My mind was warring with my heart in that moment. One was elated that Eric remembered our time together, but the other was telling me to run far, far away. What if getting his memories back made no difference to him now? What if Eric hated finally knowing just how sweet and vulnerable he was with me? What if this was the end of what could have been? The ‘what ifs’ were going to drive me crazy, and then I’d finally live up my ‘Crazy Sookie’ name.

“Sookie,” Eric called to me from his spot in front of the fireplace.  My eyes darted to him and my body relaxed almost unconsciously.

I hadn’t really thought about it while I was sitting with him, but being with Eric as we simply sat there and watched the fire gave me the exact same feelings that I had when Eric had amnesia. The only difference was that we had not talked or shared anything tonight while we sat before its warmth.

Tonight I had been with my Eric. All this time I had thought I would never see him again and could only hope I would get glimpses of him every now and then, but tonight had proven that if Eric was willing I could have more.

Still, the question remained: would he give me more? Would Eric drop his mask when he was with me? Could he drop his mask with me and be both the old and the new Eric?  I craved my sweet Eric, the one who allowed me to be his whole world.  I treasured the vampire who had survived for over a thousand years, the one who still had a sense of humor after all this time, respected me, and seemed to be one of the only people in this world who truly understood me, but I missed the softhearted Eric who openly loved me.

I blinked as Eric moved to stand in front of me, the blue of his eyes intent with unasked questions. They scanned my face for a long moment before he nodded his head, scooped me up in his arms, took me back to our place in front of the fire, and settled me on his lap.

Tonight I was too tired to process just what Eric having his memories would mean for me. Or him. Or us. I sighed and looked up to find Eric looking down at me. I opened my mouth to speak, but Eric quietly shushed me and wrapped his arms tightly around me. My body instantly nestled into his chest. He felt like home. I couldn’t help to wonder if it would be the last time I’d feel this way.

“Don’t worry. We’ll talk about it tomorrow,” he said softly.

Nodding my head, I yawned and snuggled in closer. I must have been more tired than I realized because the next thing I knew I was waking up in a room that wasn’t familiar. I was alarmed for just a moment before the events of yesterday and last night came rushing back to the forefront of my mind, and here I was, tucked safely away in Eric Northman’s house.

Weres had broken into my house and destroyed it, and it seemed that Quinn was responsible. Was he that angry that I had chosen to stay home to try and resolve my issues with Eric or was it something more? Eric thought there was a possibility of more, but he hadn’t elaborated as to why Quinn may have done this. All I needed was for someone else to once again be out to harm me.

In actuality, Eric and I barely spoke at all last night. Initially I was breaking down about what had happened to my house, and then after we left, Eric had behaved so strangely. He was quiet, stoic. At one point I thought he was unhappy that I was there in his home, and that I would be finding a new place to stay today during the day.

I had found Eric nearly despondent and sitting in front of the fireplace last night. We sat there without speaking and it was more than I ever thought I’d get from this Eric. It was like being back in time with my Eric.

It brought a smile to my face just thinking about how close I felt to him last night, but it slowly slid away while I thought about Eric’s words as I was leaving the room. He remembered everything. Based on his silence I wasn’t too sure that he liked what he remembered. We hadn’t even been on our first date yet, and it could already be over between us.

Turning my head to the right, I searched for a clock on the nightstand so that I could see what time it was. How long was I going to be left with my mind going a mile a minute, wondering what would be in store for me once Eric rose? I didn’t find an alarm clock or anything for that matter, except for a lamp and my cell phone, miraculously plugged into a charger.

I flipped open my phone to see that it was almost four in the afternoon. I couldn’t believe that I had slept almost the whole day. I guess it was understandable after being up until almost dawn and given how much I had cried yesterday. I hadn’t meant to throw myself at Eric and breakdown, but once I opened my eyes and saw him, I couldn’t help myself. I felt safe and couldn’t hold back any longer. I was a quite surprised when Eric had scooped me up, not once, but twice last night to comfort me. He had even sung to me and he had the most beautiful voice. Was there seriously nothing that man could not do? He seemed almost perfect, except for the way he had treated me after he got his memories back once the curse was lifted.

I couldn’t dwell on that forever  though or nothing would ever become of us, and Eric had already started to return to his pre-amnesia-like ways after I told him about the time we spent together. Maybe I could have spared myself some heartache if I had told him what had happened the night he woke from the curse. Yet it did me no good now, I couldn’t change the past. I could only hope that Eric still wanted me in his life once he wrapped his head around his memories.

That’s what I believed he was doing last night. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have all my memories taken from me to then get them back, having missed a week of my life. I had told him of some of our time together, but there was only so much that I could say. It was difficult to express what had happened between us during that week. If you hadn’t lived it, it was nearly impossible to comprehend. We had fallen in love. It was simple and perfect, and I could have kept my Eric, but I knew it wouldn’t be fair to anyone involved. I gave him up with the idealistic notion that Eric would remember our time together and maybe, just maybe he’d feel the same.

I didn’t know how Eric felt last night after everything had come back to him, but I was sure it was a lot to take in. I would give him the time he needed and hope that he still wanted me.

Stretching out on the most comfortable bed I had ever lay on, I decided that I needed to get up and on with my day. There was no use in worrying or trying to figure out what might happen. One thing I had learned about Eric Northman was that he was unpredictable. That wasn’t entirely true though. Sometimes it was hard for me to wrap my head around how much I had allowed Bill to poison my thoughts about Eric. I never gave him a chance and only thought the most awful things about him, no matter what he did to prove otherwise. Eric had always been there to help me, even when it was detrimental to his wellbeing, even when he said that he’d help me until it was no longer in his best interest.

After taking care of my human needs, I made my way into the kitchen to find a bowl of fresh fruit and a brand new, fancy coffee machine on the counter. It was the type that all you had to do was stick a little cup in, push a button, and voilá, a cup of fresh, hot coffee! It was a machine that I could never afford or the little cups that went with it. Sitting beside the coffee maker was a big box of those expensive coffee cups. I shook my head at the sight. I wondered if Eric had told his dayman to get the best. Knowing him I didn’t doubt it. There was already a mug underneath the machine and all I had to do was hit the lighted blue button for my much-needed caffeine fix. While I waited for my coffee, I peeked into the refrigerator to see what food had been brought while I slept the day away.

I was shocked to discover that almost the entire refrigerator was packed with food from eggs, butter, milk, lunchmeat, and cheese to cartons of pre-made meals. One shelf had an array for blood in bottles and bags, but the rest was all for me. The freezer was also full. How long did Eric say I was going to be here? I couldn’t eat this much food in a month, even if I tried, let alone a few days.

After perusing the refrigerator for few more minutes, I started to take out items to make breakfast. I grabbed eggs, bacon, mushrooms, spinach, cheese, and green peppers and set them on the counter. I hadn’t thought that there might not be any cookery for me to use, but as I started going through the cabinets, I discovered that they were stocked with more food, dishes, and pots and pans.  I had a feeling Eric’s shelves had never seen the light of day before now.

It didn't take me long to whip up an omelet with a side of bacon and eat it with my coffee. Eric's house was quiet. Almost too quiet, and I needed something to take my mind off of what could happen when Eric rose for the night. After staring at his remote that I found in the living room for a good five minutes and being unable to find the power button, I spotted a book on Vikings sitting on the coffee table. The cover was of an abandoned village by a beautiful blue-green sea. What struck me was the name under the title.

Leif Eirikr.

Was it possible that Eric had something to do with the book now resting on my lap?

Deeply engrossed in the adventures of Leif, I was startled when the couch dipped beside me. When I looked up with my hand clutching my chest and to my right, I was met with Eric's face in a hard expression and his mouth set into a tight line.

My heart dropped instantly to my stomach, and my eyes started to sting, but I was determined to not let Eric see me cry. Why had I let myself hope that one day he would feel the same for me as I did him?

Returning his book to the coffee table, I stood and walked across the room, and then spoke without looking back.

"I'll get my things and you can drop me off at Jason's. Thank you for last night, and I'll reimburse you for the food, the coffee maker, and whatever else," I blurted out while I made my way down the hall to the room where I had spent the night.

I took a deep breath to steel my nerves, and then threw the clothes I had worn last night into my suitcase while I tried to calculate how many shifts I'd have to work to reimburse Eric. Surely he'd let me make payments. If not, I'd have to take it out of my tuition savings.

I was wiping away one of my traitorous tears that escaped after I'd left the living room when I felt large, cool hands first grip, and then start to massage my shoulders. I only let the comforting gesture go on for a minute before I shrugged his hands off and whipped around to glare at Eric.

"Don't," I tried to say with conviction, but instead the one word hitched in my throat causing me to cover my mouth before a sob escaped.

Eric stepped toward me, but I took a step back and held one hand out to stop him. When he took another step, a garbled whimper slipped past my lips and caused him to halt.

After looking at me with furrowed brows for a few moments, Eric stepped around me and sat down on the bed.  I stood and watched him to see what he'd do or say, but his only action was to stare at the floor.

After a few minutes of tense silence I didn't know what to do. Maybe I should call Jason or Tara to pick me up. After scanning the room to make sure nothing of mine was laying around, I grabbed the handle of my suitcase and started to head to the door.

"If you give me your address, I can have someone pick me up, or if you're uncomfortable with that I can walk to the nearest gas station or fast food restaurant, and have them pick me up from there.”

I had just turned and started out the door when I heard a loud crack coming from the bedroom.

When I finally got the nerve to look I found the nightstand split in half and a look on Eric's face that I never wanted to see again.

His head was down, but I could still see the deeply pained look on his face.  I must have gasped, or made some sort of noise because in an instant Eric's previously pained face morphed into anger, the likes of which I had never before experienced.

Trying to back up out of the room, my back hit the wall instead. Instinctively my body started to turn into itself while I stared up into his outraged face.

“Never!” Eric barked out in a roar causing me to shrink even more. “I would never hurt you!” He bellowed with a mixture of pain and anger flashing across his face.

 


	4. Kraften I Tre

 

**SPOV**

Luckily my senses came back to me, and I rushed out of the room and headed for the front door. Obviously Eric had come unhinged after getting his memories back and was not happy with what he recalled.

“What the hell?  Sookie?” I heard him yell from behind. I was almost at the front door, ready to make my escape. Once I was far enough away I could break down, and then I would call someone to come and get me. That was  _if_  I could stop once Istarted.

Just as I was about to open the door, it flew open to reveal Pam standing there in a pink twinset and white pants with sky-high pink stilettos looking frustrated.

“You,” Pam said, pointing a finger at me, “whatever you’re doing, stop over-reacting. And you,” she said, moving her manicured finger to point at Eric, “ask her what the fuck is wrong already! I’ve been feeling this whirlwind of emotions since last night. I thought all was peachy-keen when I went to my day rest, but no, I rise to feel all this bullshit!  You’re both upset,” she said as she gripped my arm and started to pull me into the living room. Once she had dragged me in front of the couch Pam stood, tapping her foot while she waited for me to sit down.

I stole a quick glance at Eric and saw that he had calmed down.  Pam pointed to the chair next to the couch where I was sitting before huffing out irritatedly.  “Now fucking talk already!  I guess I will be at the bar even though it was my night off,”  She started to stalk away, but turned around at the precipice of where we’d no longer be able to see her and pointed at us once again.

“You both owe me. I had a date with a pretty little Asian girl tonight,” she said as she flipped her hair over shoulder and sauntered out of the house.

I sat there in shock staring at the spot where Pam had just been until I heard Eric clearing his throat.  Knowing that he didn’t need to  _ever_  clear his throat, I assumed it was to finally get my attention.  I slowly turned my head to briefly glance at his stoic face before setting to stare at the floor below me.

“Sookie,” Eric said as his long index finger slid under my chin tilting my head back until our eyes met.  His eyes studied my features before he dropped his finger, and then sat back in his chair while he began to speak once again. “I know yesterday was very trying and much to take in, but what I don’t understand is your reaction you had when you first saw me tonight.”

Now it was my turn to skim over his features hoping that I could somehow discern his thoughts or emotions, but his face held no clues. I knew I had a good poker face after years of hearing thoughts, and even if I couldn’t read what someone was thinking, I had grown pretty good at reading body language and facial expressions, but vampires had an advantage of hundreds or more years to perfect theirs, and in this one instance, I wished I could read what Eric was thinking.  I hadn’t imagined the look on his face when he sat down next to me earlier, had I? I knew I certainly hadn’t imagined his outrage in my bedroom – it had been undeniable.

I knew that this would be the turning point in our relationship.  _If we still had one._  Either I opened myself up to Eric and told him what my thoughts had been since I woke up and saw him for the first time tonight, or I could run away and most likely damage whatever relationship we had.  Squaring my shoulders, my eyes found his and I decided it was worth the risk.  Eric Northman was worth baring my soul to, more than I ever had with anyone.

“Last night, after we first arrived here, I felt as if you didn’t want me here with the way you were behaving,” I started, but had to stop when Eric’s mouth started to open. I held up my hand hoping he’d abide by my wishes.  He closed his mouth and looked at me as if he was trying to compel me to continue, even though he was the one who had tried to interrupt.  “That was how I felt at the time, but now I understand why you behaved as you did.  I can’t imagine what it must be like to unexpectedlyhave these memories you’ve wanted for so long to return and finally surface.”

Eric nodded, but kept his eyes trained on me.

“You even comforted me last night,” I softly said as a small smile began to spread across my face.  “When I woke up this afternoon, I started thinking about yesterday and your revelation last night.  I’d never seen you so… I don’t know the right word to even describe how you looked.  Despondent, I guess.”

Taking in a deep breath I continued.  “All I could think was now that you have your memories of our time together, you’d want nothing to do with me, and it felt as though my heart was being ripped out of my chest with just the thought.  It made me finally realize that I love you. You, Eric Northman, the one-thousand-year-old vampire, Sheriff of Area Five, and I don’t want to lose you,” I confessed while I looked anywhere but at Eric. I didn’t want to see his looks of pity or rejection after my proclamation.

After a few minutes of silence had passed Eric asked, “Won’t you look at me?”

Shaking my head, I finally settled my eyes on his pale, long, bare feet.  Never before had anyone’s feet struck me as attractive, but even Eric’s feet were gorgeous.  What was wrong with me? I had just told Eric Northman that I loved him, and now I was thinking about his feet and how I’d like to lick them!

[ ](http://i0.wp.com/www.gyllene76.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Eric-Feet.jpg)

I shook my head once more to get it back in the here and now, and not the sexiness…attractiveness…deliciousness…Sundaydessert-esqueness that were all things Eric… Let me tell you that was no small feat.  It was almost impossible to not notice how strikingly good looking he was whenever I looked at him and not jump his bones!

I watched as those sexy bare feet flexed and took two steps toward me, and stopped right in front of me.  Eric’s legs bent until he was on his knees before me and dipped his head to make eye contact.

“Sookie, don’t hide from me.  I’d like the chance to try and explain myself if you’re done.  First, I’d like to know what caused you to get so upset tonight when I sat down beside you.”

Lifting my head because it couldn’t be comfortable for Eric to be arching his body in such a way simply to have me look at him, I took a few deep breaths to steel my nerves, hoping that we would not have a replay of the earlier events.

* * *

 

**EPOV**

“When you sat down and I looked up into your face, you had on your normal, stoically bored expression that you wear at Fangtasia, but your mouth was set in a tight, fine line that expressed to me that you were unhappy.  When I saw those two things combined, it struck me straight to the heart that you weren’t happy about what you had remembered last night. I thought I had lost you,” she whispered.

Hating what I felt, heard, and saw, it pained me to know that I was the cause of any of Sookie’s heartache. I wiped the tears as they spilled down her cheeks and frowned. Sookie gasped in surprise while she watched me slowly wipe them away.

“I did not mean for my facial expressions to cause you worry, dear Sookie.  I was unaware I was doing so. If I had known there was any possibility that you’d have mistaken my actions as such…”

How could I explain to her what was going through my mind at that moment when I didn’t even understand my thoughts or emotions?

“What were you thinking and feeling that caused you to look like that when you came in here?” she asked quietly, anxiously. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought she read my mind.

Standing from my kneeling position, I moved to sit on the couch next to Sookie. I knew when I asked Sookie to date me (I mentally rolled my eyes at the notion, but I knew it was what she’d like and want.) that I’d have to open myself up to her. She had told me of our talks when I was that  _other_  Eric, and now I remembered. I remember feeling how happy it had made her when she thought back to that time. Knowing and doing are two very different things, and now I was supposed to talk about my feelings with her, something I had  _never_  done with anyone.

How did this woman next to me make me want to change my ways after a millennia of being a vampire? Hell, even when I was human men didn’t discuss such things! It made you look weak.

But never before had there been a Sookie Stackhouse in my life.

Turning, I moved until our legs were touching only the barest amount and I could see the worried yet hopeful expression she wore. I had blocked our tie once I felt her heartache and saw her tears. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to continue if I kept it open.

“When I came out here and saw you sitting here on my couch, reading and looking comfortable, I knew we needed to talk about last night, about my memories returning. Except…”

“Except what, Eric?” She asked her words trembling and tears in her eyes.

“Except I don’t know how I’m feeling or what to think. I’m still trying to process that week with you. Then the next thing I knew, you got upset and wanted to leave, and I knew if you left it would cause incomprehensible damage to this new stage in our relationship and even the old one.”

Taking one of her hands that she was twisting and turning in her lap, I clasped it within my own. Feeling her tiny, warm hand in my own reminded me of how much I enjoyed this new feeling and what I could lose if I didn’t let her in. “I apologize for scaring you, Sookie. Please know that I would never hurt you. I’ve promised to protect you from harm, and so far I’m doing a shit job of it and can only strive to do a better. I was only mad at myself for somehow causing you to be upset and your wanting to get as far away from me as possible.

“I know you want more answers than I can give you right now, but I need you to give me a little more time. What I can tell you, without a shadow of a doubt, is that I have never been happier in all my existence than when I spent that week without my memories, talking to you in front of your fireplace, you protecting me and I you,  and having you share your life and bed with me. Not only do I remember how I felt, but I remember what I felt from you even if I didn’t understand it at the time.

“I believe you gave all of yourself to me and I did the same. I’ve never seen you smile as you did then or felt you as happy. I also felt the sorrow of you giving up  _your_  Eric on that last night. I will never be able to express what your selfless actions mean to me, knowing how much it hurt you. I can tell you that as I lay under the floor of your spare bedroom that my only wish was to remember our time together, and for you to still want me as the man I was before I lost my memories.

“I am truly sorry that I didn’t remember. It was all a part of the curse, and I will never be able to make up for the way I treatedyou afterward. I only wanted to know  _why_  my feelings for you had grown exponentially in what seemed the blink of an eye for me, and what had caused your feelings of sorrow. I hope that one day you’ll be able to forgive me. Those are the only words I can give you tonight and if they are not enough, I will understand.”

Throughout most of my speech, Sookie had been crying, but now she looked up at me with a mixture of aggravation and hope. I wasn’t sure how that even was possible. She began to open her mouth, but I wanted her to understand.

“I will understand if it is not enough, but I will not be happy about it.  I don’t want my words or actions tonight to hurt you, and I would be saddened to lose you, the only woman who I’ve ever deeply cared for in all of my existence.”

With trembling hands and a watery smile, Sookie cupped my face with her warm, petite hands, shocking me to my very core.

“Those words were plenty,” she hiccuped, tracing her thumbs across my cheeks. “They are more than I thought I’d ever receive from you.  I can give you time to process whatever you’re feeling just please don’t shut me out while you do.  I’m so used to reading everyone’s minds and body language, and with you I cannot do that.  It makes me think you’re unhappy or mad at me,” she confessed.

Obviously my earlier actions were still affecting her. I’d need to try to be more aware of my body language and facial expressions around her. Could I forget a millennia of habits when I was in Sookie’s company?  I wasn’t sure, but I’d try to show her what I was feeling when I felt I needed to and tonight was one of those times.

It occurred to me that I would need to teach her more about the supernatural world. Sookie needed to understand that any vampire worth their years knew how to hide their emotions. It was a means to our survival. We could never allow anyone to know that we were overcome with lust or if we wanted to kill the person next to us. Obviously Bill was quite easy to read, and Iwas left paying for his baby vampire ways.

Pulling Sookie to my side, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders before placing a kiss to the atop her head. I closed my eyes, took in her scent as discretely as possible, and held in her perfume as I savored her unique scent, getting my Sookie fix before I answered her.

_Other_.

I also had to determine just what the ‘other’ in Sookie could be. I had a feeling she’d have no idea if I were to ask, but that was for another time.

Placing one last kiss atop her head, I stopped my musings and rested my chin there.

“Thank you for being patient with me, and as the human saying goes, I will not leave you hanging for long.”

Hearing Sookie laugh, which had been my intent, brought a smile to my face. When she wasn’t fighting with me or her feelings for me, she was easy to get along with. She and Pam were the only ones who could cause me to smile. The two of them, and of course, a good battle.

“What I’m feeling now, or should I say ever since I rose that night in your spare room, are feelings that I am unaccustomed to experiencing. I don’t know if I’ve  _ever_  felt this way.”  She tried to turn around, but I held her in place. Instead she turned and arched her neck until she could get a better look at me.   “I don’t want you to think I dislike these feelings. That’s not it. I’m only trying to understand them and what they will mean to my life and yours,” I confessed.

This time when she tried to break free from my hold, I loosened my arms until she faced me, almost sitting in my lap.

“You really don’t hate what you’re feeling?” she asked with a look of shock on her face.

“No, well, it’s hard to explain, especially since I don’t quite know what I’m feeling.” Seeing her frown I felt compelled to explainfurther. “My feelings for you were already quite intense. I already told you that fateful night at your house that I had strong feelings for you and that wasn’t a lie. Even  _then_  I was worried about what could happen to you if word got out about how important you were to me, and now it will only be harder to not show my feelings for you around others. They will already know there is something special about you for you to be by my side and for me to have given you my blood.” I said, smiling down at her.

“What?!” She coughed out, looking worried.

“Sookie,” I said softly, running my fingertips across her cheekbone. “I’ve given you my blood on more than a few occasions and we’ve exchanged twice now.  Only one more time and we’ll…” My words stopped dead in my throat when her face paled.

“Why do I have a feeling that the third time’s the charm?” She whispered, shaking her head.

“Yes. Three is the magical number to many supernaturals, vampires included. Three days in the ground, three blood exchanges, and by binding oneself to another by being thrice bonded, pledged, and then making your bonded and pledged your childe; the maker and childe will share their vampire gifts. All vampires have a gift no matter how mundane it may be.  I believe Compton’s is to bore others to death,” I explained with a chuckle until I saw the lost look on her face.

“Still, I suspect that Bill never explained to you everything about our blood. Did you and he ever drink from each other at the same time?” I asked just as quietly as she had spoken. I knew she hadn’t formed a permanent bond with Compton, but I wasn’t sure how I’d feel if I found out they were as close to bonding as we were. Did I want to bond with Sookie? Tie myself toher for the rest of her days?

Why had Bill left her without important knowledge that she needed to have? He brought her existence into the supernatural community totally unprepared in any way whatsoever. Someday I was going to finally end that kukhuvud.

Shaking her head frantically, I cradled her face in my hands hoping that if I stopped her from freaking out outwardly, it might stop whatever was happening inside her head.

“I never took blood from Bill unless I was hurt and he… he… you know, took blood when we had sex,” she spoke so quietly that I wouldn’t have heard her if she wasn’t mere inches away from me. Needless to say, the growl that built in my chest and finally escaped could have been heard next door if not further.

If I wanted to continue talking to Sookie, I could not think of them together. To be jealous of Bill fucking Compton was absurd. He had nothing on me. I had the looks, the power, the money, and her love, but unfortunately for me, he was her first; first love, and the one she gave her maidenhead to under false pretenses.

“Hey,” she said with a tone letting me know she understood why I was upset. My growl retreated until it was contained to only a rumble. “I’m here with you right now and I don’t want to be anywhere else. Will you tell me what happens if we exchange three times?” She asked with a small smile, probably happy with herself for having calmed me.

“If a vampire and human exchange blood three times they become permanently bonded. Nothing can break that bond. It means you belong to one another and no one else. It is very rare for a vampire to give oneself to a human in that way. We…”

“Why?” She asked inquisitively.

“I will explain although I fear that what you learn may overwhelm you, but you should know what would happen if we were to exchange. I don’t want you in the dark.”

“Thank you, and I can see that you mean it,” her smile spread until she was beaming up at me. If she didn’t stop, I was going to spread her out on the couch and ravage her body.

I looked at the book she had been reading to take my eyes off her, wondering if she had any inkling that I had written it about my human days.

“I’ll always tell you the truth. I may not tell you everything I know, but what I tell you… will be the truth. If I cannot tell you something, I will let you know why. This I promise you, my Sookie.” Keeping my eyes on hers, I took an unneeded breath, and then exhaled slowly. “If we exchange blood once more, you and I will become permanently bonded.  You know that once a vampire has a human’s blood the vampire can feel their emotions, right?” She nodded, staring at me wide-eyed.  “You will also be able to feel whatever emotion I have and be able to locate me.  No one would be able take your blood without my permission or ask for your services.  It would also make us married in the vampire world.”

“Married?!” She sputtered out, her body going rigid.

I nodded my head before continuing. “Being bonded is to be considered married in a private ceremony, but to be pledged and bonded is a public ceremony where two beings bind their souls together for eternity. It is a very elaborate ceremony that is quite rare in the supernatural community. I have only been witness to one in all my existence.”

“Really?” she asked in awe. It seemed she had already forgotten that  _if_  we were to share blood once more  _we_  would be married.

Nodding, I continued, “Yes, it was around three hundred years ago when I was in Rome. I only know of a handful of vampires who have bonded and pledged to a human. It should only be done in a love match and, as you know, it’s not easy for vampires to open up to anyone, let alone a human, and then allow themselves to love that human,” I explained, wondering if we would ever be pledged. Would Sookie choose to be with me forever? Would I ever love her and bind myself to her with the knowledge that she would one day die in the next few decades?

“Why are you telling me all of this?” She asked both scared and hopeful.

“I wanted you to know what it truly meant if you were to become involved with a vampire, me. I’m still processing what these feelings mean, and I don’t want to promise you anything before I’m one hundred percent sure and get your hopes up, but if what I’ve described to you sounds abhorrent, then it’s good to know now then later on down the line.”

“Okay,” she said quietly. “None of what you explained sounds  _bad_. Do I want to bond with you or pledge myself to you, I don’t know. Just like I can tell that you don’t know, but it must have crossed your mind for you to mention it,” she said, giving me a knowing look.

I nodded, letting Sookie know her assumption was correct. I had thought of bonding with her before. I couldn’t deny that I wanted her as mine, but now I found I needed to have a firm handle on what my feelings were presently. Sookie and I both deserved to know. If we were to bond I wanted it to be with honest feelings about each other. For all I knew, I wouldn’t be able to block my feelings from her or worse yet, she’d be able to block hers from me.  The only thing I knew in that moment was that I wanted to be honest with Sookie and I never again wanted to give her a reason to distrust me.

“So, I have a question for you,” she stated nervously but with a smile.

“I would be surprised if you didn’t. I will do my best to answer whatever you ask of me,” I answered back. Truly, I had given her quite a bit to digest that night.

“Good,” she said before rolling her lips together and looking around the room. “Where did you see me and you going in this relationship  _before_  you your memories were returned?”

“Honestly, I wanted you to be mine. I was hoping it wouldn’t take you long to want to be mine, but I was willing, am willing, to take this relationship as slowly as you want. That you’d see your worth and quit working for the shifter. Maybe go to school and get your degree. Let me take care of you.”

With each word I could see Sookie’s irritation rise, but she asked and I wanted to be honest.

“And now?” she asked, moving herself further away from me.

“What do I see for us now?” I asked, feeling my eyebrow raise wondering if she really wanted to know the truth. With a nod from her I decided to lay it all on the line. Better to know now, right?

“Now I still want all those things, and I also want what we had those days I stayed with you, but I want them every night. I want to take care of you and for you to care for me. I want to share my nights with you, I want for you to share what happened during your day with me, and for me to do the same. I want you to be mine and for me to be yours,” I purged my feelings in one blow before taking her tiny hand in mine and placing a kiss on her knuckles, waiting for her response.

“That… That sounds a lot like marriage… what you want if you love someone,” she whispered with tears once again in her eyes.

I shrugged. I wasn’t sure about the love part, but I did know it was as close to love as I’d ever known. “It’s what I want and to never see you cry again. I hate it when you cry. I only want to see your beautiful smile on your face.

“Eric!” she gasped. A tear slid down her cheek. Her eyes darted to my lips, and then back to look me in the eyes before once again landing on my lips. This time they stayed there, but only for a moment before she leaned over until her soft, warm pouty lips skimmed mine.

Before I met Sookie I had not kissed anyone in centuries. I had no need nor want to do so, but every time I was in the same room as Sookie I wanted nothing more than to kiss her. Okay, I wanted more, now more than ever since I could remember what it was like to have her body writhing underneath mine. How perfectly we fit each other. But I had never felt the need, the desire to have my lips on another. I wanted to meld my lips to hers until she needed to break away to breathe to then trail them down her neck to her collarbone, and then to make their way to her plentiful chest before moving down her body until I had kissed and licked every square inch of her.

Gripping Sookie by her hips, I settled her to straddle my legs as my lips moved against hers and our tongues moved in a dance that made each moment feel better than the next. When her fingers wove into my hair, my tongue dipped deeper, tasting her sweet mouth until she groaned and started to grind against my now throbbing cock.

I knew I needed to pull back if Sookie wasn’t ready for more. I was warring with myself on whether I should continue kissing Sookie and let her grind herself to release or if should go to Fangtasia and let Pam have the rest of the night off. I had plenty to take care of after missing last night and tonight with the bar and the Summit coming up. I’d soon need to start makinginquiries as to the location of the Tiger, his motives for Sookie, my Queen, and why he would have hired a couple of Weres to destroy her house and frighten her.

Sookie made the decision for me when her mouth broke away and she began nipping up my neck until she made her way to my ear. Feeling her hot breath and tongue was all I needed before I laid her down and my lips went to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you catch the line from Dead and Gone?
> 
> This chapter took me longer then I thought it would since I had to come up with something else that would be important to vampires and I was stumped. So yes it is made up but that’s okay since this is fanfiction.


	5. Mötet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has not been beta'd. All mistakes are my own.

SPOV

 

Sitting on the edge of Eric’s couch, my leg bounced nervously as I sat waiting for him to rise for the night. On one hand I was nervous about how I was dressed; I hoped I was dressed appropriately for tonight’s meeting and our first date. On the other I was worried about being in a room full of vampires. This wasn’t an unfamiliar feeling. I was always nervous when I was the only human in any situation and surrounded by vampires.

After spending the week with Eric. I saw how crazy busy he was as he dealt with his Sheriff’s duties, made preparations for the summit we were attending in a little over a week, and tried to find where Quinn was hiding and if he was possibly working for the King of Nevada. On top of all that Eric was trying to figure out why  _his_ Queen had sent Quinn to give me the message that I would be a part of her party instead of his without said Queen finding out he was questioning her actions.

Seeing how busy he was and having nothing else to do since I was taking time off from Merlotte’s until we knew for sure I was safe, I offered to help Eric out.  After one night of helping process the paperwork of all the new vampires coming into his area, he had moved a laptop and chair into his office for me as we shared his desk. Eric sat where he normally did with our laptopssitting back to back with me sitting in front of his desk. I think he would have moved a desk into his office if he had space or given me my own room if there weren’t so many new vampires in his area and in the bar that he didn’t trust. Or maybe he liked me close to him. All I knew was that Eric great appreciated my help at a time when almost every minute of his nights was consumed by work. I had a feeling that Eric didn’t have a lot of free time on any given night, and I was ashamed of my earlier thoughts about what he did most of his nights.

Although we were normally only a few feet away from each other on most nights, Eric and I had yet to talk about how he felt after getting back his memories. I wasn’t going to push him into talking and with how busy he had been this week I didn’t know when he could have possibly of had the time to process what had happened during that fateful week he had stayed with me. Yes, I was dying to know how he felt but I figured since he hadn’t pushed me away or asked me to go home that was a goodsign. I had mentioned that I could leave if he wanted me too and the only response I received had been in pissing Eric off and him making me promise I would not leave during the daytime and that he wanted me there no matter how busy he was or what he was going through.

Sam hadn’t been too happy when I called him back the day after my house was broken into and I first asked and then let him know that I would not be coming back until I got back from the vampire summit.  I had a feeling Sam was going to be a problem when he found out that I had been staying with Eric and that we were now in a relationship, but I deal with Sam when the time came.

At least I hope we were in a relationship.  Eric had always been honest with me when anyone else would have tried to spare my feelings, and he’d promised always to tell me the truth and I knew he would do everything in his power to live by his promises. I also knew that Eric didn’t make promises that he didn’t think he’d be able to keep.

I sucked in a deep breath and stood to straighten out the skirt of my dress when I heard his bedroom door open.  I had on a new dress. One of many that I found hanging in my closet one night after getting back from Fangtasia. I had left with only my few paltry items hanging in the closet and came back finding it filled to the brim with dresses, slacks, blouses, jeans, t-shirts, and very expensive lingerie. Don’t even get me started on all the shoes that lined the floor and filled every nook and cranny in the closet. There were even a few items that I didn’t know what they were, and I was too afraid to ask Pam what they were for.  I was going back to my house in a couple of weeks, and Pam had stocked more clothes than I could possibly wear in a year.  Don’t even get me started on what I found in my bathroom. There were more expensive lotions, shampoos, conditioners, and cosmetics than I knew what to do with. Pam stated that it was work wear for when I was at Fangtasia and the summit, but I saw the gleam in her eyes and knew there was more to it than that, but I wasn’t going to fight her or Eric on it. Especially since I didn’t have enough nice clothes to last me until we returned and I didn’t want to dip into my savings forclothes that I’d probably never wear again.

Since I knew that red was Eric’s favorite color I picked out a red dress that ended just below my knees. It had little sleeves that covered my shoulders, a matching silk belt that synched my waist, and had a cutout that showed more cleavage than I wanted to display around a bunch of vampires, but I knew that Eric would enjoy it. I had a feeling that was the reason Pam had bought it to begin with. Plus Pam enjoyed looking at my cleavage almost as much as Eric did. At least when Eric looked he did it without making me feel like I was one step away from being his meal. At least most of the time but I liked it when Eric looked at me with hunger in his eyes. I knew Pam would never act on her attraction to me, but she certainly enjoyed having fun ogling me.

[ ](http://www.iamgyllene.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ATM-Chapter-5-Red-Dress.jpg)

A small smile spread as I watched Eric come to a halt once he laid eyes on me. All my nervous had miraculously disappeared as his gaze slowly looked me over. The look in his eyes was so heated that I felt as if he was caressing me from across the room. I was sure my look equally matched his passion as I took Eric in. Normally Eric wore jeans and t-shirts that barely contained his muscular physique but tonight he had on a dark gray suit with a black shirt underneath. The top two buttons were undone giving a peek at the light blond hair on his chest.  My only thought was ‘Damn my Viking is looking mighty fine tonight, and I couldn’t wait to get him to myself.’

[ ](http://www.iamgyllene.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/ATM-Chapter-5-Eric-in-suit.jpg)

I stopped breathing as I watch Eric take three long strides across the room. His eyes never disengaging from mine even as he took my hand in his and bent to place a single kiss on the back of my hand. His lips slanted up when I took in a ragged breath and tore my eyes away from the walking God standing in front of me.

“Sookie you look absolutely stunning tonight.  I must say that I’m going to have a hard time concentrating on our meeting withyou looking as you do,” he stated with his lips still lingering on my hand.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “Should I change?”

“Absolutely not. It gives me more incentive to get the meeting over and done with,” he replied with a leer. “Are you ready for our date tonight?”

“Yes,” I answered breathlessly before clearing my throat. I wanted to forget all about the meeting and get to our date. I couldn’t wait to see what Eric had planned. Eric had always seemed to understand me and what I needed and wanted, and I had no doubt he’d pick something that we would both enjoy.

“I want to apologize for not having the time to speak to you about how I’m feeling. I do hope that you’ll give me the opportunity later on tonight.” His deep voice rumbled as he stood to his full height.

“Of course, I know how busy you’ve been, and I don’t know when you’ve found time but I do want to know how you’re feeling,” I stated quietly. Once again my nerves were back. What if Eric didn’t like what he was feeling and no longer wanted to date me?

“Sookie, you have nothing to be nervous about. I promise you. You’re safe with me; I’ll always protect you,” he vowed with his brow furrowed. “If you are ready to go, we should leave so that we can arrive before our guests.”

I could only nod my head. I knew I was safe with Eric of that I had no doubt, and I hated that he thought I had reservations about him.

Never letting go of my hand Eric ushered me to the door leading out to the garage and only paused long enough for me to slip my too high heels on before securing me in his car. He was quiet as he drove which wasn’t abnormal for him. Normally Eric was quiet as we made our way to Fangtasia and listened to classical music, but tonight I could see the tension around his eyes and noticed that his grip on the steering wheel was causing his knuckles to turn white. Was this because he thought Idoubted my safety when I was with him? I couldn’t let Eric believe that. I didn’t want to cause him any distress especially because when I thought of safety the first thought that popped into my head was Eric.

Shifting to the side and facing Eric, my hand on his upper arm I took a deep breath and tried to clarify why I was nervous. “Eric, I… I want you to know that I have never felt safer than when I’m with you. I have no doubt that you will protect me until it’s no longer safe for you.”

All words and thoughts left me as a sound that was somewhere between a growl and snarl tore through the cabin of Eric’s car.

“I will protect you until I am no more,” Eric stated gruffly as he looked out the windshield, his accent coming through stronger than usual.

If Eric didn’t want a relationship with me, then he wouldn’t be telling me he’d protect me until his death. I couldn’t think of Ericever dying. Life would never be the same if he weren’t alive. The world would be wrong. I decided to push those thoughts away and focus on the good. I mean it’s sad that in our lives there was so much danger that this was even a conversation. Normal people didn’t have their boyfriends, significant other’s or whatever stating that their protection or willingness to die to save them.

“I’ll protect you too,” I said quietly but with conviction.

With my statement, Eric took his eyes off the road and gave me a small smile. “I know you would. You have, and I’ll never forget the many times you’ve saved me. Thank you, my beautiful Sookie.”

Taking my hand off his arm, Eric held my hand in his against his gear shift as we finished our ride to Fangtasia in silence. I decided I would keep to myself that I was nervous about our impending talk about how he felt now that he’s memories were back.

Once inside his office, Pam started bringing in chairs that lined the walls of Eric’s office placing one on each side of his chair behind his large desk before she turned to me looking me over. I was surprised it had taken her this long.

“Sookie, I knew you’d look exceptionally well in that dress. It’s perfect for my Master and your date tonight,” said Pam with a fangy smile.

“I’m glad you approve,” I said looking around at all the chairs she’d placed around the room. “Do you know who all’s coming to this meeting?”

Shrugging her shoulders Pam started to walk out of the room before turning around to speak. “All the people in Eric’s retinue who he plans to bring to the Summit and the Queen’s second will be making an appearance. Why?”

“Just curious.”

“I must go. The others are arriving. Eric will be in in just a moment.”

The door hadn’t even closed from Pam leaving before Eric walked in tall and in charge exuding confidence and strength. I noticed as he passed me that his hair was now being held back by a black leather band at the base of his neck.

“Come sit on my left, Sookie,” Eric said patting the seat to his side, once he sat behind his big desk and started up his computer while pulling out some papers.

No sooner had a sat down then Clancy came in sitting down in front of Eric’s desk.

“I didn’t know you’d be here Sookie,” Clancy said with a nasty grin and showing a little fang.

I did not like Clancy, but I tried to be polite. “I’m going to the summit to help Eric and the Queen.”

“Hmm, maybe I’ll see you around then.”

Eric raised his head from his paperwork glaring at Clancy until Clancy lowered his gaze to the floor. I had a feeling the meeting was only going to get worse, and I was right. Pam opened the door to let in Maxwell Lee, Indira, and Felicia, who all sat on the couch on the other side of the room. I had no problem with any of them. It was who walked through the door next that I had a major problem with. I quickly snatched one of Eric’s papers off his desk and began to pretend and read it as if it was the most important thing in the world.

Eric’s head swung in my direction, and I was pretty sure he was planning on taking back the paper in my hands, but insteadhis hand reached down to my chair leg and pulled my chair closer to his before going back to what he was doing.

I didn’t look up from the sheet of paper until I noticed Pam walking into the room and sitting on the other side of Eric.  Scanning the room, I noted Thalia was leaning against the wall beside he who shall not be named with Andre in a chair to the other side of her and Jake Purifoy to his left.

“Hey Sookie,” Jake called from his seat.

“Hey Jake,” I said giving him a small nod. Irrational fear spiked in me as I sat in my chair and remembered when Jake had woken up as a vampire and had attacked me. That was also the night that I learned that he who shall not be named had been sent to Bon Temps by his queen, and our whole relationship had been a lie.

I knew Jake wouldn’t hurt me, and it wasn’t really his fault that night in Hadley’s apartment, but a shutter worked its waythrough my body.

“Miss Stackhouse,” Andre said politely from his seat. I wasn’t sure what to think of the Queen’s personal bodyguard and Child. He looked very young and handsome, but I knew not to underestimate him. Underneath his youthful appearance, he was lethal, and I hoped to keep him on my side.

“Hello, Andre. How is Her Majesty?” I said with a smile as a leaned closer to Eric.

“That is one of the reasons I’m here tonight. Thank you for asking Miss Stackhouse. Eric, can we get on with the meeting now that everyone has arrived?”

“Of course, Andre the floor is all yours,” Eric said as he leaned back in his seat and looked around the room.

“As many of you know, your queen has lived in the Sheriff of Area Four’s house in Baton Rouge since Hurricane Katrina. She would very much like to return to New Orleans, but all of her residences have sustained too much damage for her to do sosafely. The contractors that I’ve contacted are booked for months with all the destruction. We need to find a solution to get Her Majesty back to the heart of Louisiana and show that we are not a weakened state. Do any of you have any ideas?

I watched as every vampire in the room continued to look at Andre with a blank face. I was surprised when Eric spoke up from beside me.

“I have a secure estate on the outskirts of New Orleans that Her Majesty may use and I believe would be acceptable and I’ll put in a call to a contractor I know who owes me a great debt. If you could leave me the information on what residences Her Majesty would like done first, I’m sure he can get a crew together and working by the beginning of next week.”

I watched as a small grin tipped Andre’s lips. “I think if you weren’t already the queen’s favorite sheriff you definitely would be now.  I’ll inform her of your generous offer and let you know by the end of the meeting what she’d like to do.”

I looked over at Eric smiling and noticed Pam’s look of concern. I had no idea what she could be concerned about, but itwould have to wait for later.

“Once the queen is back in New Orleans we would like for you to send all the new vampires that have come into your areadown to Area One.  As you know after Hurricane Katrina we lost a large number of vampires. We were hoping that some were still hiding out and would resurface, but we haven’t had as many as we hoped. We are down in numbers, and it isn’t looking good for us at the summit. That is why Her Majesty has requested Miss Stackhouse to be a part of her party instead of your’s Sheriff.”

“Do you think the trial will be held?” Eric asked, gripping the arm of his chair so hard I thought it might break.

“Yes,” Andre stated from the middle of the room. “We are no longer a powerful Louisiana, and Arkansas is demanding a trial.”

Without thinking I asked, “Do you think it’s possible that one of the states that are attending the Summit has something like a weather witch?” All eyes were locked on me. I looked to Eric hoping he’d help me out of this uncomfortable situation, but he only had a reassuring smile on his face and nodded for me to continue.

“When the summit was first supposed to occur, Louisiana was powerful but now that there has been continued delays, and the state is not as… commanding in presence as it used to be.”

“That could be possible, and it’s something for you to keep a look out for at the summit. Another reason our queen needs you. Eric, what do you think?”

“Sookie is excellent at thinking outside of the box,” Eric said proudly. “It is very well possible for one of the states to have a witch who could control the weather. We can only hope there is a not another delay.”

“Because of Hurricane Katrina, we will not be having the queen’s full contingent at the summit. She wants Miss Stackhouse with her at all times when other humans will be around to read them. Stan is bringing his telepath, and maybe the two of you could work together.” Andre stated with a raised brow.

“I’ll see what I can do,” I said with a tight lip smile. I wanted to see Barry, but I wasn’t happy about all the time I’d be with the queen and away from Eric.

“Who will be going to the summit if we are cutting our numbers?” Clancy asked, looking agitated.

“You, Felicia, Thalia, Maxwell, and Bill will stay. Thalia remember the rules while we are gone,” Eric said with a knowing glance her way. Thalia’s only response was a curt nod. I didn’t know much about Thalia except she seemed like a rogue whobarely followed the rules that were set for her. I think she was older than Eric, but there was no way I was going to ask her. She scared me, but she seemed loyal to Eric and that’s all that mattered to me.

From beside me a horribly fake southern accented voice spoke, “I’m required to go to the summit. The queen has requestedfor me to sell my database.” I couldn’t believe I had once been attracted to  _him._  Now I couldn’t stand the sound of his voice or look at his stupid sideburns.

“Fine,” Eric said as if he didn’t care. “You will go. That makes the Louisiana contingent our queen, Andre, Sigebert, Sookie, myself, Pam, Cataliades and his niece, the sheriff of Area Four since he’s been hosting the queen in his area and house, Rasul and Bill. I will also have one Were for daytime security.”

At the close of the meeting, Eric went through all the pertinent information about the date we were leaving and coming back, and our flight times. I was going to ask for a piece of paper to take notes on, but Eric handed me the paper he had been reading from with his elegant script gracing the page.

“I believe that’s all for tonight. Eric, I’ll be in contact before we leave for the summit.” Andre placed himself in front of the desk staring right at me and unnerving me more than a little bit. “Miss Stackhouse I’ll see you at the summit if you have any questions I’m sure Eric would be happy to help you,” he said with a knowing smile.

I didn’t know what was up with that smile of Andre’s. Did he know about Eric and me? I couldn’t think about it right now because suddenly he who shall not be named was now standing at my side facing me.

Eric stood and spoke quietly to Andre by the door. I assume they were talking about his offer to let the queen stay in his house. Whatever it was was spoken in hushed tones and not in English.

Everyone else had left the room except Pam and, of course, the vampire trying to get my attention to my left.

“Sookie,”   _he_ said with a sigh. “You can’t ignore me forever. Will you, please talk to me and let me explain.”

Scooting back my chair I then stood and faced he who shall not be named.  “There’s nothing for you to explain. Everything has been made perfectly clear. Now if you don’t mind, I have a date to go on.”

“Date,” I heard him whisper with disappointment in his tone.

Walking toward Eric now that he was alone, I smiled up at his handsome face. Why did I ever try to resist him? How? I did know that if I had given myself to him on the first night we met we most probably wouldn’t be where we are today. I would be nothing to him but another nameless face, so I’m glad I resisted for a small time but never again. If after our talk Eric still wanted to be with me I’d do everything in my power to make it, so neither one of us were hurt by my actions again.

“Ready?” Eric asked holding his elbow out for me to take.

“Yes,” I said as I clasped my hand around his arm. I had a feeling that tonight would be the start of a new life. One that would forever be Eric and Sookie.


	6. Middag

EPOV

Escorting Sookie from my office and away from Bill we were quiet as we made our way out to my car.  I knew Sookie was nervous and had been the entire week waiting for an opportunity for us to talk about how I felt now that I had my memories back.  The week had been a busy one, to say the least, but our time together had never been far from my mind.

I knew that I loved Sookie before getting my memories back, but I was just unwilling to put a name to the emotion or betruthful to myself.  I wasn’t sure it was wise to let myself fall for her. From the moment she had stepped foot into my bar, I had been trying and unsuccessful in staying away from her. Sookie was always on my mind even when I was fucking some disgusting fangbanger. Eventually, I could no longer tolerate their smell or voice while I unsuccessfully satisfied my baser needs and after the curse was lifted, I no longer tried to fuck Sookie out of my mind. It felt like a betrayal to the feelings I had risen with. I wasn’t sure how they had changed so drastically over the course of a week until just a few days ago.

Now I knew. That Eric,  _her Eric_ , was who I’d be if I didn’t have a thousand years of hardening myself to the world and opened myself to the only one in the world who I could be myself without worry. Sookie was my refuge, my light. I only had to knock down the walls and let her in for her to love me and she did for one magnificent week.

Sookie said she loved the real me and wanted a relationship.  _A relationship._  My experience with relationships had always been built on duty, not love. The only thing I knew was that I couldn’t stay away from her any longer. If Sookie had been with the Tiger or Bill when I got my memories back, I would have stopped at nothing to have her.

Pulling Sookie deeper into the Supernatural world was not something either of us wanted, but it was an unfortunate circumstance that came from being with me. One I hoped she didn’t regret later down the road. Once it was known how important she is to me, others would use her as a way to get to me. After finally coming to admitting to myself that I have loved Sookie even before I was cursed, I wanted to bond myself to her.  I also hoped that in the future she would agree to become my bonded child. If I opened myself up to her, to loving her, and to one day lost Sookie, I don’t believe I would be able to go on.

If anything, was to happen to her because of me… I needed to keep her safe. Always.

There were so many things that would have to wait until after the summit. My Queen's fate was unknown, and so was the outcome of her trial. We could have a new monarch once all was said and done. If that was the case and depending on who it is, we might need to leave Louisiana.  There were too many what ifs, but I needed to plan for all of them. I had too many people that relied on me to be unprepared.

“Hey,” Sookie said, resting a hand on my bicep. “You’re quiet. Stressed. If you want to do this another night, I’ll understand.”

“No,” I replied, bringing her hand up to kiss her knuckles. “We need this. I need this. I want to clear the air between us. Letyou know what I’m feeling and thinking before my nights are too busy with preparations. I don’t want you second-guessing yourself while we are at the Summit. You need and deserve to know what I want.”

“I thought men don’t like to talk about their feelings. You in particular,” she responded.

“I have no problem discussing my feelings  _if_  I understand what I’m feeling,” I replied as I exited the highway. “I am unaccustomed to speaking of my feelings. Vampires do not discuss such topics. We are very impersonal if you had caught that by now.”

I have. Do you still hate having feelings?” she asked.

“Honestly?”

Sookie nodded her head.  “Always.”

“No, but there will be times that I may feel that way.”

We were quiet as I maneuvered down the streets until I pulled up in front of the restaurant. It was owned by a Were in Alcide’s pack and was strictly for Supernaturals.  Making my way to the passenger side, I opened Sookie’s door and helped her out of the car, tucking her hand in the crook of my elbow.

The restaurant was quiet and smelled strongly of garlic. I believed the pungent smell of garlic was to deter vampires from visiting too often.  There were other establishments for the Supernatural community that vampires used more often, but I feltSookie would be more comfortable here.  She couldn’t easily hear the occupants, but if she wanted to Sookie could listen to them.

“Mr. Northman,” the were-panda said as we approached the hostess stand. “We have your table ready for you.”

I watched Sookie as we followed the hostess. She was curious and confused by the clientele. By the look on her face, I knew she was trying to listen as we made our way to our table.

“Is this location up to your specifications?” The hostess asked. We were at the back of the large room in an area where I would be able to see everyone who was coming and going. The tables around us had no occupants giving us the privacy we needed.

“This will do fine,” I replied as I pulled out a chair for Sookie and waited until she was seated to push it in and took my seat across from her. Yes, I had manners and knew how to use them. If the smile on Sookie’s face was any indicator, she was surprised but happy by my chivalrous act.

Sookie studied her menu after the hostess left for a couple of minutes before sitting it down and giving all of her attention to me.

“Have you decided what you want?” I asked. I didn’t need to look at my own menu. All synthetic blood tasted horrible. Once I was in my resting place, I’d have a bag of donor blood.

“Yes,” she answered, looking around the restaurant. The walls were exposed brick with arched ceilings and mirrors on the walls making the restaurant look bigger than it actually was. White table clothes adorned the tables with candles throughout while soft Italian music was piped in through the speakers.

After one final trek around the room, Sookie’s eyes came back to me alight with wonder. “This isn’t a regular restaurant. Asidefrom being the fanciest restaurant I’ve ever been to which is beautiful by the way, I can’t read a few of the people here.”

It bothered me that Sookie had never been to a nice dinner, but I would soon rectify that. I would take her to all the best restaurants in Shreveport and the surrounding areas. I wanted her to have the best the world had to offer, and I was going to give it to her and have her accustomed to the fine things in life.

“No, this place only caters to the Supernatural. I wanted you to be able to enjoy yourself and not have to block the entire restaurant’s thoughts.”

“That was very thoughtful of you,” Sookie responded with a soft smile.

My only response was to smile back. She didn’t need to know that I wanted this date to be perfect. Special.  I knew she was already nervous, and I didn’t want to make it worse for her.

“I think I need a lesson in Supernatural creatures? Is that the right word? It sounds wrong and rude to use.”

I chuckled before answering. “Many of us are creatures of the night, my dear Sookie. As for the different types of species that are here tonight, there are of course Weres, a few Dae, a couple of witches, vampires, and elves, and one fairy if I’m not mistaken.”

I watched as Sookie took this all in and as she tried to identify each species. It only took her a few minutes to ascertain whowas what.

“Are you okay with a fairy here?”  She asked looking in the direction of the fairy.

“Yes, she’s all the way on the other side of the restaurant, and I can barely smell her over the garlic. I have complete control of myself. No need for you to worry,” I answered. If I had to, I’d stop my intake of air, but I doubted the fairy was unwise enough to venture over to our side of the restaurant. She had been here when we arrived and knew, at least, one vampire was on the premises.

I knew Sookie was remembered when I was cursed and how I, along with Pam and Gerald had been at Merlotte’s with the fairy. I had barely held myself back from the delectable fairy that was in the room. Fortunately for all of us involved, she was asked to leave the room so that she could further explain her knowledge of the witch coven.

“Are you ready to order?” A pimply faced Were asked from beside our table keeping tabs on me from the corner of his eye. If he thought he could take me, he was sadly mistaken, but I’d play along for the sake of our date. I didn’t want to ruin tonight for Sookie.

“Yes, I’ll have the Crispy Gnocchi with Pistachio Pesto with a glass of your house wine,” Sookie answered.

“And for you?” The waiter asked me.

I wanted to say nothing, but I knew it would make Sookie uncomfortable to sit across from me and eat while I had nothing.

“True Blood O Positive,” I answered then brought my attention back to Sookie.

Once the waiter was out of sight, Sookie rested her arms on the table. “In the car, you said that there may be times when you’ll dislike your feelings can you expand on that?”

“Of course, there are two reasons. First, I am new to relationships and feelings of caring about someone who makes rational thought escape me are dangerous. I am afraid that my feelings for you will get one or both of us in trouble.”

“Why would your feelings get you or I in trouble?” Sookie asked with confusion.

“I don’t like to admit this, but I sometimes make terrible choices where you are concerned. I once told you I’d protect you aslong as it didn’t jeopardize my own life. That seems like a lifetime ago,” I said shaking my head. “Now, I would die protecting you.  I would do anything for you Sookie. I killed Long Shadow for attacking you when I barely knew you and look what that got you. Your house almost burned to the ground.”

“That wasn’t your fault, Eric. How could you have known that would happen? Do you regret saving me?” she asked in a whisper.

“Never once, but I do regret the trouble it has caused you,” I answered.

“What the second reason for not liking having feelings?” she asked brushing aside my earlier comment.

“We should have talked about other things tonight before I say this to you, but we are here now. This comes in two parts. I care about you more than I ever thought possible, and I have for a long time. Since before we went to Mississippi. I wasn’t honest with myself about how I felt about you, but after getting my memories back, I can now identify what I’ve been feeling. I love you, Sookie, and it’s not because I’ve got my memories back. I loved you before they were ever taken from me.”

Sookie’s face brightened at my words and a beaming smile spread as she held her breath.

“One day someone will most likely try to use my feelings for you to get to me. I don’t want to scare you, but you’ve seen some of what my world is capable of, and I’m not only talking about vampires. I want everything with you and with that comes the consequences of my world. Ones that I know you do not want. If I open myself up to you and let myself really feel for you, others will see and know how important you are to me. They already suspect you are more to me than an asset. On the other hand, opening myself up and letting you in, something I have never done before now could end in disaster,” I tried to explain. I didn’t think I was doing a very good job of explaining myself so that she would understand.

“You’re scared,” Sookie stated simply.

“Yes,” I answered surprising her. Sookie’s hand reached across the table to hold my own offering support.  “It will not be easy for me to fully let you in. For over a thousand years I’ve had one mindset, and I need to adjust my life to where I can be open to you. After I do all that you will more than likely one day leave me.”

“I’m not going to leave you, Eric,” Sookie said with conviction.

“You cannot assure me of that, and I’m not talking about breaking up with me and never seeing me again. I mean that one day sooner or later you will die,” I answered trying to keep my emotions at bay.

“We’ll all die someday,” Sookie attempted to explain.

“Yes, but unless I can convince you otherwise you will within a human lifetime.  This is all more than we should be talking about as we begin a relationship, but I know what I want.  This may seem fast, but I’m tired of wasting time I might not have and fighting what I feel for you,” I admitted my fears out loud to myself and Sookie.

“Wow!” Sookie exclaimed. “When you layout there you don’t hold back.”

I couldn’t stop my lips from tipping up as I watched Sookie beam from across the table.

“Why do I feel there’s more?” She asked nervously after a few quiet moments.

“Because there is. None of it needs to be said tonight. It can wait if you want.”

“So far almost everything you’ve said has been wonderful. Is this the part where you break my heart, or I get mad at you and never want to see you again?” Sookie asked before she anxiously started to bite her lip.

“I certainly hope not. There are things that I want for us in the future, and you may not be agreeable,” I stated.  I wasn’t sure if now was the right time to bring up what I wanted for us.

“What do you want?” She questioned quietly.

“I hope that you’ll agree to bond with me and one day become my bonded child,” I stated with conviction.

“That’s being married in your world, correct?”

Was Sookie going to ignore the part where I wanted her to become my child?

“Yes,” I answered as I watched what I wanted, sink in.

“I’ve thought about being bonded to you since you brought it up. You weren’t sure if you would want to be bonded or not.”

“I am now,” I said interrupting her.

“You want to be married? For me to be able to feel what you’re feeling? She asked unbelievingly.

“Yes, I want to take care of you, provide for you, to be the one you come home to and for you to be the one I come home to at the end of the night. I want for us to sit in front of the fire and talk about our nights, to be able to make love to you, and have you in my bed,” I declared.

Tears filled Sookie’s eye, and I was sure she would soon start crying, but our waiter came with her food and distracted her for a few moments. Long enough for her to pull herself together. Once the waiter had sat her food down and refilled her wine glass, it was my turn to reach out and hold her hand.

“Sookie, I want what we had when I was cursed, but more.  I’ll be more. This time, it won’t end in a week. Hopefully, it will never end. What do you want, my Sookie?”

Sookie cleared her throat and then took a drink of wine before responding. “I want those things and want to be with you. Iguess… I never thought I’d have them.”

I knew after Bill; Sookie thought she’d never be married or have a typical relationship. I would give her all those things, but we wouldn’t be normal or ordinary.

“But Eric,” Sookie said gently, interrupting my thoughts. “I don’t to leave my house.”

“Did I ever ask you to leave your house?” I asked. I knew that Sookie would never want to leave, and we had some very fond memories there.

“No, but my house is nowhere near as nice or as safe as yours,” she responded.

“If we are going to be living together and one day bonded, I feel as if it’s my duty to make your house more secure. It’s my way of providing for you and it’s not something you would need if I weren't there.”

“You want to live in my run down house?” Sookie asked surprised.

“I have very fond memories at your house, and I hope you do to.  I would like to put in a security system and an underground chamber that would be light-tight and secure, but also our room. The only time I’ve shared a bed was with my Maker,” I held back my body as it tried to cringe at the thought of my Maker.  “And Pam. You would be the first to share a bed with me because we both want the connection and not because it was our only option to hide from the daylight or security.”

“You trust me that much?” She asked breathily.

“Sookie,  I want to bond with you. If I didn’t trust you with my life, I wouldn’t be asking to live with you and bond. I only need to make what would be our residence, safe for the both us. I could possibly have it done by the time we are back from Rhodes.”

Sookie sputtered as she took a drink of her wine.

“So soon?” She finally squeaked out.

“That’s what _I_  would like, but if you want to wait we can,” I answered somewhat disappointed. I thought Sookie would, at least, want to live together. Maybe it was because I hadn’t been the most hospitable host while I worked through my feelings

“Eric,” Sookie called my name with a soft smile.  “These last few months I’ve wanted nothing but what you just proposed. I guess it seems to good to be true. I never thought I’d get my happily ever after and you just handed to me on a silver platter. What if this doesn’t work? I don’t think I’ll be able to survive losing you again.”

“If I thought for a moment that we wouldn’t work out, I would never ask you to tie yourself to me. I have faith in us. Will we have problems along the way? Yes, everyone couple does, but we can work through them if we want to make this work. I may be new to relationships, but that’s because I never have in over a thousand years wanted one until now. I will strive to be the best… companion.”

“I want to make this work more than anything else in the world,” Sookie promised with her words, eyes, and our tie. “Do you really think they could have my house, I mean our house ready by the time we get back from Rhodes?” Sookie asked excitedly.

“Yes, they may have to work a little overtime, and I’ll most likely have to find someone other than Alcide for our day security while we are at the Summit, but they’ll get it done,” I answered.

I watched as Sookie scrutinized my face for a long moment before she spoke.

“Have they already started some the work you mentioned?” Sookie asked with some annoyance in her voice.

I had promised that I’d never lie to Sookie and didn’t want to go back on my promise, but I didn’t want her getting upset when our night was progressing better than I imaged it would.

“Some,” I answered. They were nowhere near finished with what I’d already ordered for them to do to her house, but if Sookie’s farmhouse was going to be our main residence, then I’d have to add more for them to do. Her house could be too easily burned to the ground, and while the chamber underneath the house would be fire-proof, I wanted Sookie to be safe no matter where she was day or night. “Please don’t fight me on this. I want you safe. Always.”

“The only reason I’m not going to fight you is because I want  _you_  safe. I know I can’t be there all the time and protect you. Not that I think I could protect you, but I’d do everything within my power to keep you safe.”

“I feel the same about you, Sookie. If we are going to make this work you’re going to have to let me provide for you and one of the ways of me providing for you is to keep you safe. I promise your house will look the same as it always has unless  _you_  want it to change.”

“Thank you, Eric. You have no idea how much this night means to me. I think this is the most I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth. I always thought getting you to actually talk to me would be like splitting nails on the head, but tonight you’ve shown me otherwise. In some ways, I feel like I know you and others I feel like you’re a complete stranger. How can I love you when there is so much of you I don’t know?”

“We have plenty of time to learn everything about each other. As for how you can love me, I have no idea. I’ve been asking myself that every night since you told me you love  _me_ ,” I confessed.

“Believe it or not, you are very easy to love when you’re not acting like an ass, Eric Northman,” Sookie answered with a smile.

“Then I’ll strive to do my best not to be an ass,” I responded.  “Now that you’re done with dinner would you like some dessert or are you ready for our date continue?”

“I can’t eat another bite and even if I could, I want to see what else you have planned for tonight. In case I forget to tell you later, I had a great time. You’ve blown me away tonight and I love  _you_ ,” she replied earnestly.


	7. Mässan

**SPOV**

I watched as Eric’s lips tipped up and his large stature stood with a grace that was all his own.  I would never get tired of watching him. Eric Northman was the epitome of a Viking God. Tall, gorgeous with long silky blond hair and eyes as blue and mesmerizing as the ocean, a body that any artist in their right mind would beg to sculpt, smart, cunning, graceful, and with a sense of humor. Sure he had a few flaws, who doesn’t, but the good definitely outweighed the bad.  And the best part was that he loved me! Little ole Sookie Stackhouse. He could literally have anyone he wanted, and he wanted me. If our date was any indication of what, our lives would be like I knew that I’d get a happily ever after that I never thought possible. Better than my wildest dreams.

I was used to how Bill would never tell me anything from his feelings, his business dealings, and anything vampire related. Eric had been so open with his thoughts and feelings tonight. I never thought this night or this life would be possible.

Holding his arm out for me to take like a true gentleman, I wrapped my hand around Eric’s elbow and let him lead me out of the restaurant and to his car where he helped me get settled before he made his way to his side and got in. After buckling my seatbelt, I noticed that once Eric had gotten into the car, he had not moved. He was sitting with his hands on the steering wheel looking out into the parking lot.

“Is everything okay?” I asked as I tried to look to see if we were in any danger. I knew if there were danger in our midst, Eric would not sit idly by. I could see nothing in the dark parking lot, so I attempted to find any brain signatures that were in the vicinity. Still, I found nothing.

Shifting in the seat to angle my body toward Eric, I started to get worried at his strange behavior. “Eric,” I whispered and placed my hand gently on his arm.

“It won’t always be this easy,” he murmured still looking forward.

“What won’t be this easy?” I asked concerned about what Eric could possibly be talking about.

“Our life together. It will take some work and getting used to. I’ve been alone for a very long time and even when I wasn’t alone, I was either the Master where I didn’t have to explain my actions, or I was the Childe, and I had no say in what my nights would entail.” Eric shifted in his seat as best as he could for having such a tiny car and a large body. Letting out a sigh he didn’t need, Eric continued.  “I want this date to be perfect for you. I want all your nights with me to be perfect, you deserve that, but it’s going to take some time for me to be what you want me to be and plenty of patience from you.”

“I don’t want you to be anything other than who you are,” I replied softly. “You’re a thousand years old and used to your way of life. As for me, I’ve never lived with anyone other than my family, and I may be set in my ways too. It’s going to take us both time to get used to being together. Even when I was with Bill, it wasn’t a real relationship in more ways than one.”

A growl vibrated through the interior of the car after I mentioned Bill. It was sweet and endearing that Eric was jealous, but if that was going to always be his response anytime, I talked about Bill or any male it would get old.  Fast.

“Eric,” I said soothingly, “I’m here with you and no one else.  I love you and no one else.  You have nothing to be jealous of.”

“I am not jealous of Bill Fucking Compton,” he growled out and looked out the window above my shoulder.

Okay. I definitely hit a nerve.

“If you had a significant other, alive or dead, I’d be jealous. It’s natural especially if you care about someone, but it’s the way you react to that jealousy that can be either good or bad,” I stated quietly as I tried to meet his eyes, but he continued to look out the window instead of me.

After a few quiet moments, Eric’s eyes finally met my own and he spoke. “It’s not only jealousy. If I had investigated why Bill was in my area or had been straight forward with you instead of fighting my feelings, I could have saved you from the heartache Bill’s treachery caused. He wouldn’t have been your first love or the one that you gave your maidenhead to. That’s on me,” he rumbled, his jaw ticking.

“You can’t blame yourself. I am just as at fault as you are. I had my doubts early on, but I romanticized something that wasn’t there because I was lonely and couldn’t hear his thoughts.”

Now it was me who couldn’t look at him. I was ashamed that I’d been so naïve with Bill, and if it hadn’t been for Eric showing up the night of mine and Quinn’s date, I probably would have done the same with Quinn.

“You are still so young, Sookie. How were you to see through Bill’s duplicity?” Eric said, placing a finger under my chin and gently brought my gaze back to his. “I only brought this up because it’s summer and I have so little time normally, but with the summit’s preparations, I won’t have time to take you out on another date until after we get back from Rhodes.  Even then I don’t want you to think I’m neglecting you. I’ll need to find a way to free up more of my time.”

“I understand. I’ve seen how busy you’ve been this week, and I don’t know how you even had time to sort your head after getting your memories back,” I said shaking my head.

“I made time,” he replied, brushing the hand that was holding my chin across my cheekbone. “I’m going to need your patience Sookie. I don’t want to mess this up, but I have no idea what I’m doing.  My nights are very busy, but I want you to be a part of them, of my life,” Eric stated with his eyes locked onto mine. I could tell this was important to him and it meant the world to me.

“I promise. You’ll need to be patient with me too, but I think we are off to a good start,” I said but paused at the questioning look on his face. “You have opened up to me tonight beyond anything that I ever imagined. Some of it is pretty scary to think about, and I don’t want you to think I didn’t hear all that you said tonight. I did, but I need some time to think.  It’s a big commitment.” I watched as Eric’s eyes flared but kept a stoic face. Maybe feeling his emotions wouldn’t be so bad. It would definitely give me an insider's perspective. I leaned over and pressed my lips to his cheek before moving back to my sea. “I love that you were honest with me about what you want.”

“I will always be honest with you to the best of my ability, but if I cannot tell you something then I promise to tell you why I cannot. Deal?”

“Deal!” I said with a laugh.  “Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll find ways to spend time together. I’m staying with you until we go to Rhodes and once we get back then, we’ll be at my house. I know you work a lot, but surely we’ll see each other if we’re living together.  Enough of all this serious talk. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to stall our date until I yielded to you.” I laughed again at the heated look on Eric’s face.

“Is that a possibility?” He asked with a leer.

“If you play your cards right, Cowboy. Now, what are we doing for the rest of our date?” I asked playfully.

Eric gave me a small smile before he replied as he fished his keys out of his pocket and started the car,“The state fair is going on right now, and I thought you might enjoy going.”

“I haven’t been to the fair since I was a little girl. I only went once, and all the voices in my head were too much for me to handle,” I muttered as I remembered how badly my head hurt when I couldn’t block a single thought.

“We can do something else if you think it will be a problem. I thought that if you kept contact with me, then you’d be able to block out their thoughts. I don’t want you to be in pain,” he answered with his brows furrowed.

“That should work. It’s sweet that you were so considerate to what I might go through,” I replied somewhat in awe. I don’t anyone had ever taken into consideration how hard an environment would be on my telepathy.

“Of course, I thought about how it might affect you, but tell me if you want to do something different. It’s not a problem,” he said gently.

“No, I want to go and try, but we have one problem.”

“And what would that be?” Eric asked, taking his car out of gear and driving out of the parking lot.

“This is not appropriate fair attire,” I said motioning to my new dress.

“That shouldn’t be a problem. I had Pam pack you an outfit that should be suitable.  You can change when we get there unless you’d like to change in here,” he said waggling his eyebrows.

“Maybe another time, but I’m not too keen on changing there either. The bathrooms at those type of places are usually pretty gross,” I said wrinkling up my nose in disgust.  I didn’t even want to think about how bad they’d probably smell.

“Don’t worry. That’s taken care of as well.”

“You thought of everything,” I answered with a smile, not knowing how he had taken care of the gross, smelly bathrooms.

“I tried. I wanted to make this a good first date for you,” he answered.

“You’ve succeeded.”

Going by the smile on his face, Eric could tell how happy he’d made me and how well he had succeeded in his endeavor of the perfect first date.

We were quiet and listened to music as we traveled to where they always held the fair. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. When I was with Eric, it didn’t matter what we were doing I could relax, be myself, and just enjoy our time together. I’d never felt that way with anyone before, and it was another reason that I loved him.

It didn’t take us long with the way Eric drove. I wasn’t sure how he didn’t get pulled over more often with his red sports car flying down the streets and highways. Maybe the police knew his car or saw his license plate that said BLDSKR and knew not to mess with him.  What I did know was that what would normally take the average person thirty minutes took Eric around ten.

We parked right up at the entry where it looked as if a spot had been held for us and I wouldn’t put it passed Eric to somehow arrange it either.

I had just taken off my seatbelt and opened the door when Eric’s hand flashed inside to help me out of the car.

“I’ll get the door for you,” Eric grumbled. “Always.”

My eyes got wide as I took his hand and exited the vehicle. “I can get the door myself you know.”

“I do know, but I would like it if you’d allow me to open doors for you when I’m around.”

“Who would have thought Eric Northman was chivalrous,” I muttered to myself as he led me to the entrance to pay.

“Yes, who would have thought,” he replied looking down at me.

After paying and buying more tickets than I thought two people would need even if they came every day to the fair, Eric placed his hand on the small of my back as he ushered me over to a trailer that had a burly man standing it in front of it. One look at him and anyone would want to turn away, and Eric was leading me right to him.

Eric didn’t say a word, he only nodded and escorted me up the steps and opened the door for me. I was shocked to see it was a nice bathroom. A really nice bathroom. One that was better than what I had in my house. It had beautifully tiled floors and marble counter tops, and it was immaculate. Not one speck of dust or a bit of grim from what I could see.

Once I had taken in the room, I turned to Eric to see him pulling a bag out of the closet and setting it on the countertop.

“Clothes for you to change into,” he said as he grabbed another bag out of the closet.

“Are you changing?” I asked with curiosity. I was enjoying seeing Eric in a suit and couldn’t wait for more occasions for him to be in one, but it definitely wasn’t something you’d wear to the fair in Louisiana.

“Yes, I’m going to go to the room next door and change out of my suit.  I’ll meet you back in here in a few moments. It won’t take me long,” he answered with his hand already on the door handle.

“I know it won’t take you long. Silly. I’m sure you could be undressed and dressed by the time I only have my shoes off,” I joked. Only it wasn’t really a joke.  Vampires could move faster than fast.  Luckily for me, Eric seemed to hold back on using his vampire speed when he was around me unless it was needed for our safety.

“Yes, once I’m done I’ll wait outside for you, but I’ll knock to let you know that I’m done and waiting for you. I won’t try to sneak a peek at your voluptuous body.  I will be patient,” he responded before leaving me in stunned silence.  Eric had really gone all out to try and make tonight perfect.  The old Eric would undoubtedly have attempted to sneak a peak as he put it, but I was happy that Eric was letting me go at my own pace.  Little did he know that I couldn’t wait to strip him of his clothes and have my wicked way with him.

I looked around one more time before I dug out a simple red t-shirt, black short shorts with a cuff at the bottom, and silver sandals. All of this was my style. Casual and comfortable but I was sure that it probably cost more than what I made at Merlotte’s in a month since Pam had bought it.

I was right; I had barely begun to undress before Eric knocked on the door and called out to let me know that he was waiting for me.  Quickly getting dressed, I placed my dress in a bag that had been left for it in the closet along with my shoes. I wondered who brought our clothes and who would be picking them up. I had a feeling it was probably Pam.

Think of Pam brought a smile to my face. Even though her loyalty was to Eric, she had tried to make me see reason more than once before the night of my date with Quinn. She was a lot like Eric, and I could see once we had some time to spend time together that would become better friends. I wanted to believe that she was already my friend or she wouldn’t have tried to get Eric and me together.

I walked out of the bathroom to Eric leaning against the door to the building across the way.  His head was tipped up looking at me, his eyes taking me in from tip to toe as I took in his jeans, boots, and button up shirt that he had on earlier. Eric usually only wore jeans and t-shirts, so this was a treat. Although it didn’t matter what he wore, he always looked gorgeous.  Tonight was no exception.

**EPOV**

I watched as Sookie slowly came down the stairs and made her way over to me. Pam had done an excellent job of picking out her outfit. Her shorts were showing off her strong, tan legs that I knew I’d have a hard time keeping my eyes off of all night as would every other male here. It was going to take everything in me not to tear their eyes out as they stared at her.

The second Sookie was in touching distance, I wrapped my hand around hers and kissed her cheek. “You are beyond lovely tonight.”

A blush spread across her cheeks making her even more lovely. “Thank you, Eric. You look very handsome tonight.  It’s almost unfair.”

“You’re the one going home with me, my dear Sookie.”

“True,” she answered.

“Are you ready? What would you like to do first?” I had no idea where to start. The last time I had gone to anything resembling a fair, it was only to feed around four hundred years ago.

“Hmm,” she hummed as she looked around. “There’s so much to choose from. What do you want to do?” I watched as she scrunched up her nose in that cute way that she always did and then tilted her head to look up at me. “Do you even want to be here? This doesn’t exactly scream Eric Northman?”

“And what screams Eric Northman besides you in my bed?” I half joked, half stated. This was my way of seeing where Sookie was with the whole let’s wait to have sex thing.  It was very confusing to me. We’d already had sex in the past, I remembered our time together, and we loved each other. What more did she want? Plus, she had hinted at it earlier at the restaurant.

“Truthfully?” She asked biting her bottom lip. When I only nodded, she continued. “I have no idea. There’s still so much about you to learn, but being around fair people is not it.”

Shrugging my shoulders, I replied, “I don’t have a lot of free time so what little time I do have to myself I tend to spend at home. What’s the word? Homebody?” I asked, and she nodded with a small smile. “I like to read or listen to music, but I’m happy to be anywhere where you are. Even the fair.”

“That’s… very sweet. I would have been happy to be curled up on the couch with you and watching a movie,” she said shyly as she steered us toward the rides.

“We’ll have plenty of nights on the couch, but that wouldn’t be a very good first date now would it.” I looked up from Sookie to see us at the end of the line for a small roller coaster and promptly pulled her to the front of the line.

“Eric, we have to wait in line just like everyone else,” Sookie admonished with a whisper.

“Mr. Northman, it will be a few moments before the previous ride is finished,” said the man who was taking tickets.

“That’s fine,” I replied as I moved us to the side and out of the way.  I didn’t think they’d actually stop the ride and throw people off. We could wait a few minutes.

“What? Why?” Sookie said shaking her head slightly. “I don’t understand.”

“Anything can be bought for a price, and I bought us passes that will let us go to the front of all the lines. I wanted to make sure you got to do everything that you wanted to do before it closed down,” I answered, looking down at her astonished face.

“Eric,” she laughed, “You are going to so much trouble, and it’s so sweet of you, but seriously you are going to have your work cut out for you on any future dates.”

“Is it too much?”I asked, hoping that she could hear the worry in my voice. Maybe she didn’t like going to the front of the line. Was it possible she wanted to stand around and wait?

“No, it’s perfect. The whole night has been. I promise,” she replied, leaning into my side and looking up at me through her lashes.

Nodding, I lifted our linked hands and held them against my chest. “Is this working?” I couldn’t see an ounce of pain on her face or feel it in our tie. I hadn’t felt anything but shock, awe, and her happiness for most of the night.

“It’s working perfectly. Thank you for asking and thinking of it, to begin with,” Sookie replied and then pressed her other hand to my chest as she stood on her tippy toes and pressed a kiss to my jaw.

It wasn’t long before the occupants of the ride were getting off and the gate was opened for us to take our seats. Roller coasters did nothing for me. Especially one this small, but Sookie was excited, so I led her to the front and helped secure her in her seat.

“This is probably silly to you since you can fly and all,” Sookie said as she looked over at me.

Shrugging I smiled, “I like that you’re excited about it.  If you’d like I’d be happy to take you flying and treat you to the roller coaster experience sometime.”

The only person I had ever taken flying was Pam, and that was to get from point A to point B but to have Sookie in my arms while I showed her the stars would be something to definitely look forward to.

“I’d like that.  It won’t mess up the way you fly or anything,” she questioned as the bar came down and clicked into place.

Shaking my head, I replied, “No, maybe if I was carrying a car or something that big and cumbersome it might make flying more difficult. You have nothing to worry about.”

“Oh,” Sookie squealed as the car jerked forward and then started to laugh as it slowly made its way up the small incline.

I couldn’t stop my lips from tipping up as I watched Sookie laugh and squeal with each dip of the car. She had one hand in the air, and the other was linked with mine on the bar that had come down across our legs. I’d never seen her enjoy herself more than in that moment, and I vowed to myself to do everything in my power to make her as happy or happier and to keep a smile on her face for the rest of my existence.

We rode every ride the little fair had and the Ferris Wheel twice.  The second time I paid the attendant to leave us at the top extra long since Sookie seemed to like scooting to the edge and looking out over the area and looking down at all the people.  She would definitely like flying going by her reaction to the Ferris Wheel.

“I never thought I’d get to enjoy the fair. We came once when I was a child, and I only lasted a few minutes before everyone’s thoughts were too much for me.  Thank you for giving me this, Eric!  You are amazing,” she said the last against my lips as she pressed her body to mine.

“You are the one that’s amazing. I’ve enjoyed tonight more than I thought I would, and that’s all thanks to you. Watching and feeling your experience has been incredible.”

Placing both hands on her hips and pulling her tightly to my body, I leaned my head down and gently brushed my lips against hers once, twice, and finally a third time before sliding my tongue along the seam of her pouty, pink lips. Sookie’s mouth opened as her hands ran up my arms and around my shoulders as our tongues caressed one another’s.  I couldn’t even remember the last person I had kissed before Sookie, but I had never tasted anything better. I wanted to taste the rest of her and started to slowly walk us toward the parking lot as we continued kissing until Sookie disengaged in a haze. She blinked a couple of times with a soft small gracing her delicate face before she took my hand and started to take us in a different direction.

“Where are we going?” I asked Sookie as she pulled me along as if her life depended on it. “Sookie?” I questioned when she didn’t speak.  I was ready to leave and reacquaint myself with her body.

“One more thing, Eric. Please? Then we can leave and do whatever you want,” she finally replied as we slowed down in front of the House of Mirrors.

“Anything?” I asked as I pulled her to me and nibbled on her neck.

“Anything,” Sookie answered breathlessly. “I’ve always wanted to go into one of these. Jason used to go on and on about it after he’d come back. Can we, please?”

“Surely by now you’ve realized that I can’t say no to you,”  I answered her.

“Really? Why is that Mr. Northman?” She asked as she ran her hands along my shirt collar.

“Because I like to see your smile too much.”

Sookie’s answering smile would have left me breathless if I had breath in my body. Instead, it felt as if her smile could warm my cold dead heart.

“Come let’s see what Jason was talking about. Then I’d like to take you home and ravage your body until the sun comes up.”

Sookie licked her lips and started to breathe heavily. That was a very good sign that she was willing to join me in my bed. Rushing through the curtained area, Sookie stopped dead as she caught sight of us in the mirrors as our shape was twisted and made us look about ten feet tall. She laughed and then took off giggling and calling for me to find her.

My senses made the chase unfair. I could hear her laugh and heartbeat acutely, smell her delectable fragrance, and feel her through our tie.  Shutting down the tie wasn’t hard or not breathing in the air of the horrid building, but I needed, at least, one of my senses open for danger.

Walking slowly, I called her name as I took each turn a few moments after she did causing her to speed up and laugh more. Hearing her giggles and laughs made me want to pounce but I held myself back and let her have her fun, and in truth, I was having fun with her. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this happy. Well, I could. It was when I stayed at Sookie when I was cursed, but before that, I couldn’t think of a time when I let myself have fun.

Purposely passing her as she hid in a corner, I made it look as if I was leaving the area. Once I knew she was coming after me, I spun around and lifted her into the air and twirled her around as she threw out her arms and laughed.

“You knew I was there. You knew the whole time where I was didn’t you?” She gasped out as her laughter died down.

Nodding, I sat her down on her feet and looked at myself in the mirrors.  Most of the mirrors throughout the maze had made our bodies look what I guess was supposed to be silly, but this one I liked. It made the perfect lighting, and the mirrors made it look as if there were hundreds of me peeking around the next one. What Sookie was doing from behind me was the real reason I was liked this mirrored room the most.

I watched as Sookie’s arms sneaked around my sides and along my abs. Her nails scratched a trail up my chest until she fanned out her hands and caressed my chest.  I wanted more, and I knew that if I initiated now that I wouldn’t want to stop. This wasn’t the place for us to have sex for the first time when we were both in our right minds, knowing what it would mean. And I didn’t want anyone to see Sookie in the throws of passion.

“Sookie.”  I closed my eyes, and although the image of her touching me was gone,  I could still feel her hands. “We need to leave.” My voice was nothing more than a groan. Grasping her hand in mine, I rushed us through the rest of the maze and out the door toward the car with more of Sookie’s giggles trailing behind me.

“Eric, slow down,” Sookie called from behind, making me slow down.  I was rushing her and probably making it seem as if I only wanted sex. I did want sex. Badly, but I couldn’t only think with my dick. Tonight needed to be special from start to finish. It had been just as long for Sookie as it had me, but she wasn’t used to having sex almost nightly for a thousand years. I should be somewhat used to it though. After Sookie walked into my bar, I only wanted her, and when I couldn’t have her I tried to pretend the women I was with were her, but I was still left wanting and gave up entirely. Still, this time, I would remember. It would be different for the both of us.

“I’m sorry, Sookie,” I said as I pulled her to my side and walked slower.

“Your excitement is flattering, but we don’t need to plow down half the crowd before we make it to your car,” she giggled out. I loved hearing her happiness, and tonight I’d had it in spades.

Nodding, I guided us back to my car and helped her inside. We were quiet on our way back to my house. I could feel that Sookie was becoming slightly nervous as was I, but mine was for a different reason.

“Sookie,” I called and reached out my hand to take hers. After having her small, warm hand in mine for most of the night, it felt wrong not being there now. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Okay,” she whispered nervously.

“When we get back to my house I’d like to take you to my bedroom.”

“Okay,” she said again.

“Not my bedroom beside yours. I want to take you down to where I stay for the day, my resting place.  Did you ever stay with Bill?” I asked her, feeling her out.

“Yes, but you know that. I stayed in the same room as him in Dallas,” she answered.

“Yes, Dallas. What I meant to ask you is if you ever slept in a bed with him?”

“No, Bill didn’t sleep in a bed, but his coffin in Dallas and he sleeps under the floor somewhere in his house. I don’t really know or care,” she replied looking disgusted. Was she disgusted thinking about him being dead for the day?

Running my hand through my hair, I tried again. “I want to take you to my bed when we reach my house, no one has ever been down there with me, and I’d like it if you stayed. I will, of course, give you the code to get out when you wake. Does the idea of sleeping beside my body for the day bother you?”

“No! Why would you think that?” She cried out.

“It does to many people. I’ve heard what humans say about vampires. I won’t ask you to do something that will make you uncomfortable. It’s best if I know now. I have us in the same room in Rhodes and….”

“And what?” she asked quietly.

“We are going to live together, and I want us to share a room. I don’t want one of us to have to leave the other because of the of the sun, I want to die for the day with you in my arms and rise for the night with you by my side. But I’ll understand if being beside me while I’m dead for the day would disturb you.”

“Seeing how I’ve never done it I don’t know, but the thought doesn’t bother me. Quite frankly, I’m shocked that you want me there and your trust in me,” Sookie explained resting her other hand on top of our joined hands.

“Sookie, I laid myself bare to you tonight. I let you know my wishes for us in the future, and if I didn’t trust you, then I wouldn’t ask them of you.  I want to live with you, bond with you, spend eternity with you. I’m all in if you are.”

Leaning over Sookie kissed my cheek and whispered her answer in my ear.

I couldn’t get us home fast enough and spent the rest of our night with our bodies tangled together as I worshiped and tasted every inch of her body and the night ending just how I wanted it to. With a sated Sookie asleep in my arms as I died for the day.

 

 

 


	8. Jag Har en Känsla

SPOV

 

I was a nervous wreck or whatever’s beyond a nervous wreck.  I was finally on the plane, and we were headed to Rhodes. It had been a long morning, and I had stayed up until dawn to say the equivalent of goodnight to Eric as I watched him step inside his coffin and get situated.

I’d seen Bill in his coffin before, but it seemed wrong as I watched Eric rest his long frame in what looked like some crazy space age coffin that he assured me, he’d be safe in.  His fancy coffin was bullet and fire proof.

After giving Eric a kiss goodbye/goodnight, I went back to bed and slept for a few hours until my alarm woke me up.  With very little sleep, I was very thankful that Eric had added a coffeemaker to his kitchen.

I turned the sleek Keurig on, selected one of a hundred different types of K-Cups, placed it in the tray, put a cup underneath, and hit the blue glowing coffee cup before I went to take a shower. Immediately after exiting the shower I drank my first cup of coffee. After getting dressed, I drank another and another after fixing my hair and doing my makeup.  With all the caffeine pumping through my body, I was a little wired, and it didn’t help my already frazzled nerves about feeling responsible for Eric while he was in his dayrest, flying and the trip in general.

The only positives I could see was that I was staying with Eric, and hopefully, that would deter Bill from trying to talk to me with the added benefit that I was staying with Eric. In his bed. Something that I had been sleeping in since the night of our first official date.

I closed my eyes and felt my lips curl up as I thought of all the time we’d spent in his bed after our first date.  I think I had tried to repress how wonderful he had been during the period he’d stayed with me. I knew that he would be different with his memories, and he was. Eric was more skilled (of course), there was more passion, more tenderness, and reverence now than when he was without his memories.

But I was really looking forward to after we got home. Home. Eric was moving into the farmhouse. By the time the summit would be over Eric’s dayman will have moved everything that Eric had instructed to be packed up.  Truthfully I was a little nervous about living together, but I knew we’d make it work.  I’d been staying with Eric for a few weeks now, and it had been great after we had our talk and I knew where he stood.

Now we _had_ to make it through the summit. Eric had let me know that he wasn’t sure what the outcome of the Queens trial would be but had made preparations no matter the result.  When I asked him what he’d planned, he only smiled and kissed my nose. I didn’t take that as a very good sign, but he told me not to worry. Pfft. As if.

I was also afraid of running into Quinn. Although Eric had hired Alcide to stay by my side anytime Eric couldn’t, I wasn’t sure if it came down to it if he could beat Quinn. I’d been informed by Eric that Quinn had fought in the pits and had always come away undefeated. If he was that good and/or cheated, I didn’t know, but it almost made me wish I hadn’t asked Eric, to be honest all the time. Almost.

“Sookie, I’d like to go over what you saw the night of the Louisiana and Arkansas marriage. Besides the queen, her child, and the king you were the only one there. Sophie Ann can command Andre not to give up any damaging information. I'm afraid you’ll be asked to testify no matter what your bonded wants,” Mr. C said with a knowing smile and a pat on the knee.

“How did you know?” I asked in a hushed, urgent tone.

Pointing to his nose, he replied, “All Supernaturals can tell. Didn’t the Sheriff inform you?”

“He said people would know… but I thought it was because he’d tell them or send it through some supernatural hotline. Is it going to be a problem?” I whispered getting even more nervous.

“A problem? No, but I don’t think the queen will be too happy. Speaking as a friend, I’d say it was wise. Mr. Northman is one of the oldest vampires in the New World, and Sophie Ann isn’t stupid enough to try and get on his bad side. Everyone knows your bonded could be king if he desired to do so. You’re safe now that you’re tied to your bonded. I can tell it’s very fresh. If it weren't daylight, I’d think the Sheriff was right here with us.”

“Really?” I asked leaning forward to look at Alcide.

“You reek of Northman,” he grumbled.  “You wanted this right? You’re tied to him until one of you dies. There’s nothing I can do.”

_Except kill him._

“Yes, I wanted this and knew what I was getting into. I love him. You know he’s moving into the farmhouse,” I replied in a high pitched tone.

“I know,” he said looking out the window for a moment. “I just wanted to make sure you knew for your sake.”

“Thank you for looking out for me. You’ve been a good friend. Even working double time to get as much work done on my house before we had to leave so you could supervise and make sure everything was done to Eric’s expectations. We really appreciate it.”

Alcide gave me a dubious look but smiled none the less.

“Trust me Eric will be one happy vampire if my house is ready when we get back,” I told him with a smile.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Alcide replied with a hint of sadness. My only answer was with a small smile and a nod.

I knew that Alcide had at one point hoped that we would get together, but I had thought he’d gotten over the notion, but from the sad look on his face it looked like I was wrong. I hoped he’d still be willing to be in my life and my friend now that Eric was going to be a permanent fixture in my life.

The rest of the flight was spent with Mr. C interrogating me as if I was on the stand in trial. From his smile at the end of the flight, I figured I had done a somewhat decent job answering him. I could tell he was an outstanding lawyer based on the way he tried to trick me into answering differently than I had previously. It made me wonder how long he’d been a lawyer and just how old he really was. But I didn’t ask; my Gran had taught me better than to ask such questions.

It was a short flight and therefore still daylight out when we arrived in Rhodes. Alcide stood by me as we watched Eric and Pam’s space age coffins move from the airplane and into an Anubis van. A few town cars were sent for the rest of the party. I rode with Alcide, Mr. Cataliades, and his niece, Diantha.

I sat by the window and watched as the new city passed me by with wonder. It really hit home just how few places I’d traveled in my short life. I’d gone to more places once vampires had entered my life than I had in all my life combined. I knew with Eric in my life I’d get to see even more of the world and it wouldn’t all be for work. Instead of being nervous as I had all morning excitement rushed through me causing my lips to spread into a smile I felt from the tips of my ears down to my toes.

I felt my jaw drop in awe as we neared our hotel, The Pyramid of Giza. It looked like a bonified pyramid except instead of looking as if it was made of stone it looked to be made of glass that was tinted a purplish green. I knew the glass was made with some special UV filter to keep out the sun and wondered if when I got back to Bon Temps if my windows would be replaced and tinted the same. I knew I could ask Alcide, but in a way, I wanted to be surprised by all the work that had been done. I knew that Eric had probably done more than he had told me and gone over the top.

No sooner had we pulled up in front of the hotel than our doors were opened and we were helped out with our baggage being placed on multiple carts. Alcide again stood by my side as we made our way to watch Eric and Pam’s being unloaded.

We had a little fight with a couple of the employees when they tried to prevent us from following them as they took Eric and Pam up to their rooms. There was no way in hell I was letting them out of my sight and give anyone the opportunity to try and hurt them. It didn’t matter how safe their coffins were supposed to be. Even though we followed them up and watched as they placed their coffins on stands in our joining rooms, I still had to go downstairs to check in to get our room keys. I didn’t leave the rooms until I had set new codes that would also accompany the key cards in gaining access to our accommodations.

On our way down Alcide and I decided that we’d have an early dinner so that once we were done, I could stay in my room and wait for Eric to rise for the night.

We stood somewhat patiently in line as the receptionist ran into error after error as he tried to check each guest in. I read from his mind that he wasn’t doing it deliberately but as each passing person checked in an unsettling feeling set up house in my stomach. By the time, it was our turn I could tell the man who looked to be in his early twenties with short black hair and brown eyes was close to losing his cool. He’d never ran into so many problems, and he had worked many conferences and conventions.  Quietly I relayed what I knew to Alcide so that he could keep his guard up about anything out of the ordinary.

“It’s quite alright,” I informed the receptionist named Mark for a third time. We’d finally made it up to the desk, but he was having more problems with our reservation than he had with the others. Somehow Alcide was to be on the third floor, I had my own room on the fifth, but I was also in the system as sharing a room with Eric on the twentieth floor. I knew Alcide wasn’t staying on the same floor as us but when Eric made the reservations it was confirmed he’d be on the floor below ours. It didn’t matter how fast Alcide was if he was on the third floor and something happened, he wouldn’t be able to make it in time by elevator or stairs all the way to the twentieth floor.

“Are you sure you don’t want your room on the fifth floor,” he asked me again.

_Why can’t I get this reservation to cancel?_

“I'm sure. I only need keys to the Northman suites on the twentieth floor. Are you having any luck placing Alcide on the nineteenth floor,” I asked giving Alcide, who was standing less than patiently by my side a knowing look. We’d been standing there for at least half an hour. I was starting to get more than irritated and ask for a manager. The only thing keeping me from doing so was that I knew he was doing everything in his power to get our reservations straight. Every time he changed it to the way it was supposed to be it would change back. He was afraid that if a manager was called he’d get fired and he needed the job to pay for his schooling. It didn’t help that three others were supposed to be working the desk but had been called away to some other task. When he called the previous two times whoever he talked to’s only reply was that they were short staffed and had no one to send to the front desk.

“How about we get something to eat in the restaurant, and that will give you some more time to get everything straightened out?” I asked with what could only be a tight smile.

Slipping four cards into an envelope and another two in a separate one the receptionist gave me a grateful smile. “Here are the keys to the Northman suites.  There’s nothing preventing me from making extras for your room. As for Mr. Hervreoux’s room, I'm still working on it. I’d be most grateful to bring your room key to you once I get you your room on the right floor, or I'm happy to have you come back when you're finished eating and pick it up. Whatever works best for you,” Mark said in a rush.

I looked behind us to see another five people waiting in line. I was more than a little doubtful the issue would be resolved by the time we were done eating if he continued to have problems checking in the rest of the people in line as he had us.

“We’ll come back later to get his key. It looks like your going to be busy for awhile,” I replied sliding the envelopes with the keys off the side and stuck them in my purse.

We walked in silence for a few minutes as we made our way to get dinner in the restaurant that’s entrance was on the other side of the lobby.

Breaking the silence, I said, “Don’t tell me that wasn’t weird?”

“I can’t. I’ve never stayed at a vampire hotel but if that scenario happened very often and vampire companions complained they wouldn’t be in business. Are you going to tell Eric?” Alcide held the door open as he looked down at me with a look of concern and concentration on his face.

“Of course I am. Somethings going on and we need to figure out what it is,” I replied worriedly as I passed him.

“Are you Nancy Drew now? It’s not your job to figure out why the reservations were messed up,” Alcide said exasperatedly. I knew he was hungry, so I wasn’t going to let him get to me.

“I just feel like something is going on. What we just experienced is only a small piece of the puzzle. Maybe it’s nothing, but what if it’s something? I'm going to keep my shields down as much as possible and see if I can pick anything up. It’s hard to explain, but I’ve had a bad feeling about this trip since I agreed to go. I was even warned that I shouldn’t attend,” I tried to explain as we found a seat since there was no one to sit us.

“And yet you still came,” Alcide said shaking his head.

“I had to. I didn’t want to get Eric in trouble. The queen wanted me as part of her party, but Eric argued to let me stay with him and for you to come. Even though he’s paying for everyone in his party she still didn’t like it,” I let out a sigh, and my shoulders fell forward. “I don’t want to fight with you. Do I want to be a part of the supernatural community? Not really, but I have no choice and it’s in no way Eric’s fault and as much as I hate to admit it it’s not Bill’s either. My cousin Hadley opened up her big mouth long ago and spilled the beans about me. They were going to be a part of my life no matter what,” I said quietly and looked down at my menu.

“Sookie,” Alcide called softly, “You know I'm not a fan of vampires. Especially after what went down with my father, but Northman could have made me do anything to pay him back, and he knows I would have done it to keep my dad out of trouble. Instead, he asked me to take you to Jackson and keep you safe. He’s not so bad for a vampire, and although I didn’t do that great of a job on the second part, I did make a friend for life or, at least, I hope so if I can stop acting like an ass.”

“Just don’t bad mouth Eric just to bad mouth him. I'm not a fan of all vampires, but I wait to reserve judgment until I get to know them for the most part. If you can do that, then we’ll have no problems. I want you in my life, but to be in my life, Eric will have to be in yours. Can you deal with that?” I asked not hiding the hope in my voice.

“I can do that but can Northman?”

“You’re here aren’t you?” I said in half statement, half question.

“I am indeed, and I’m getting paid _a lot._ Seriously after this, I could easily take a couple of years off,” Alcide replied shaking his head.

Sitting my menu down, I looked around for a waiter. I had just now realized that we’d been seated for quite awhile, and no one had come by to even take our drink orders. Going by my experience so far, I was not impressed by our hotel.

“Have you seen a waiter at all since we sat down?” I asked, looking around some more and noticed the restaurant was almost vacant, and none of the other customers had drinks or plates in front of them. I hadn’t really thought about how quiet it was until now. I took a look at my watch and saw it was three o’clock. It was late for lunch, but with everyone arriving for the summit it shouldn’t be like a ghost town either. I would expect plenty of people that would be checking in to want something to eat once they arrived.  “I don’t think we’ll be getting much service here. Maybe we can find someplace in walking distance. What do you say?”

“I think that if this continues when a hotel full vampires rise there’s going to be bloodshed. They are not going to tolerate being ignored or subpar service. Let me look at my phone and see if the there’s something close. If not we can get a taxi,” Alcide replied and then took out his cell. He wasn’t on it long before he quickly stood and shoved it in his pocket. “Let’s go. There are plenty of restaurants close by who will give us much better service than this.”

Standing beside my chair, Alcide helped me stand and ushered me out of the restaurant.  We both glanced at the reception desk, and Mark looked over at us and shook his head before going back to helping someone check in.  I was beyond done at that point.  I wasn’t sure what could be done about it, but I knew this hotel was not cheap, and Eric was paying for three rooms and two of those were suites.  He wasn’t going to be happy that Alcide, who was to be my bodyguard, was seventeen floors below us.

Following Alcide, I let him choose where we would eat. At this point, I didn’t care as long as I got something into my stomach.  I didn’t want my stomach to be rumbling when I finally saw Eric for the night, and I definitely didn’t want to hear what Pam would have to say.  She wasn’t the biggest fan of human digestive noises.

I found myself in a simple burger joint, but it was a good pick. It was probably one of the best burgers I’d ever had along with their fries and shakes.  I had a barbecue cheeseburger with sweet potato fries and a chocolate shake while Alcide went surprisingly fancy and got some blue cheeseburger with everything on it, seasoned wedged fries, and a cherry Coke.  We were both in heaven as we inhaled our food. After a few minutes, I finally sat my food down and wiped my mouth and took a deep pull on my shake before I spoke.

“Now that were in a neutral place what do you think of our hotel?  I’m getting a bad feeling about our rooms.  I don’t know if it’s the hotel and something weird or if Quinn has something to do with me having an extra room and yours so far away.  I wouldn’t put it passed him, and if he’s to blame for all the trouble, Eric might just kill him.  He’s already pissed that I was going to go on a date with him, along with Quinn bringing the message that I was going to be in the queen’s party and not Eric’s, and then after those Were’s broke into my house and trashed it. Then Quinn being M.I.A. until now with his scent on a pen they dropped.”

I could only shake my head worriedly.  I didn’t want Eric to get in trouble, and if he did something while we were here, I was afraid of what could happen to him.

“Eric’s smart enough not to be caught doing anything that could get him in trouble.  If he did anything, it would be to protect you, and since you are not going to be out of my sight or his at any moment, we don’t have anything to worry about.  Although I do think Quinn will try to talk to you at the very least,” he said before taking a bite of his burger.

Letting out a sigh, I responded, “I just want him to leave me alone.  We never even went out. Why can’t he accept that I want to be with Eric?”

“You’re a hard woman to get over Sookie Stackhouse.” It was said with a smile, but I could tell he really meant it, and I didn’t know what to do with that.

“I’m sorry, Alcide. I really am. You're a great guy, and any woman would be lucky to have you,” I started.

“But?”

“But, I love Eric. I have for a long time, and I’m happy. I never thought I’d get anything like this in my life and to know that Eric loves me too.” I didn’t finish and could only smile.

“I’m happy that you’re happy, but I doubt Quinn is and from what Northman’s told me it’s possible that Quinn’s working with someone else that wanted to get their hands on you.  If he was working for someone and failed, it’s possible he’s in trouble and could be desperate. You need to promise me that you’ll go nowhere without Northman or me.”

“I promise. I’ve already heard it all from Eric.  I don’t want any trouble, to get hurt, or kidnapped.  After this, I just want to go home and figure out how to share my life with Eric. A simple life.”

“Do you think you’ll have a problem?” he asked, his brows turned down.

“With Eric? No, but when Sam finds out that Eric is living with me and that we’ve bonded,  I think he’ll make working at Merlotte’s less than pleasant.  He was already not happy when I told him that I would be enrolling in school next semester, and I’d need to cut my hours or possibly quit,” I explained as I finished off my last fry.

“Why not quit?  It’s going to be a lot harder than you think to go to school, be in a relationship, and work,” he quietly responded.

“Probably, but I’ll need to work some. I don’t have enough money saved up to get by until I finish with school. At first, I’m taking it a little slow since I’m not exactly Miss Technology and all my classes are online.  I don’t want to overwhelm myself and get discouraged and quit.”

“You’re a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for. You’ll do great and adjust just like that,” he said with a snap of his fingers. “I advise you to talk to Eric about working and school.  I don’t think his plan was to come live with you and then mooch off you. He wants to take care of you not make your life harder. Talk to him, Sookie,” Alcide said gently.

“You’re right. It’s just… hard.”

“What’s hard?” he asked confused.

“The differences between Eric and I. I know he wants to take care of me, but I was raised to not be a kept woman.”

“Sookie, first off you’re bonded to Northman. That’s a commitment. A significant commitment. Bigger than marriage. Right?” he asked with big eyes and his eyebrows up, almost making me laugh.

“Right,” I answered back. “But most people, _humans_ don’t know about being bonded with a vampire.  They’ll think…”

“Nope! Who gives a fuck what they’ll think. In your little small minded town maybe they will think less of you but if Northman makes you happy then fuck them.  Be happy and make him happy. Because letting him take care of you will make him happy.” With the way, Alcide was talking you’d think Eric had had some heart-to-heart with him.

“How do you know?” I asked a little irritated. How was it supposed to forget how I was raised and what people would say and think?

“That was going to be my second point. You were raised one way and so was he.  Northman was a Viking! I’m pretty sure he still has that mindset and Vikings took care of their wives, their women.  Let him take care of you. Even though I grew up in a different time than him if you were mine, I’d want to take care of you and if you made that difficult, it would cause some serious problems between us.  Think about what I’ve told you today and talk to your bonded.  You’ll figure it out together.” The last was said sadly,  and quiet.

“Thank you, Alcide,” I replied with a sad smile.

“Anytime. Are you ready to head back and see if they’ve got everything straightened out yet?” He asked with a laugh. Yeah, we both thought the chance of that happening was slim to none.

I laughed too and nodded.

“I want to get back to the room before Eric rises. I want to see what he thinks after I tell him about what our experience has been so far and that it feels like something else is going on.”

“You’ve always had great instincts, and the Sheriff knows this. He’ll listen and feel it out I'm sure,” Alcide responded kindly.

“Thank you.” I could feel the blush on my cheeks from his compliment.

I watched as Alcide pulled out his wallet and threw some money down on the table. I didn’t like it, but I’d been told to suck it up because it was a business expense and Eric would pay him back. I didn’t like the thought that Eric would be paying him back. I could buy my own meals but I was learning to pick my battles, and I realized after my talk with Alcide that it would make Eric happy to help take care of me.

It was a short walk back to the hotel and although the outside still looked as cool as it had earlier when we arrived it had lost some of its charms. This wasn’t a vacation; we were all here to work, and I needed to start thinking of it as such.

As we moved through the revolving doors, I caught sight of a tall olive-skinned man with his bald head facing toward us. Quinn. His once beautiful and alluring purple eyes almost looked dulled as he took me in from head to toe.

I felt Alcide’s hand at my back as he tried to maneuver us to the elevators. The entire entry was filled with guests trying to check in, and we had almost made it to the bank of elevators when I heard my name called in my head. I whipped around trying to find the owner of the voice.

 _“Barry?”_ I pushed as I cast my eyes over the crowd.

 _“Over here,”_ he called right before our eyes met. Grabbing onto Alcide’s hand, I pulled him over to a smiling Barry.

Barry had changed since the last time I’d seen him in Dallas. He was a few inches taller and had added some muscle to his once lanky frame. Instead of the bellboy suit he had worn now, his entire ensemble was designer making me feel frumpy in my casual comfort clothes I’d worn for the trip. Stan had been treating him well, and that made me happy to see. I had been worried what would become of him once his telepathy was made known to the vampires of Dallas.

“It’s so good to see you,” Barry said warmly as he pulled me into a hug. I hugged him back and told him it was good to see him as well. “Is that your man?” he whispered in my ear as he let me go.

“No, this is my friend Alcide who’s also my bodyguard while we’re here,” I replied with a soft laugh.

_“He wants to be more even though he knows it’s not going to happen.”_

_“I know, but we’re just friends. I have a boyfriend, man, um partner. I’m not sure what to call him.”_ I felt my nose wrinkle as none of the words I’d used seemed accurate, but I was unsure if Barry knew about bonding and did want to stand there trying to silently explain in a lobby full of people. It was slightly taxing keeping all their thoughts out while listening to him.

 _“No worries. You’ll figure it out_. Are you just checking in?” Only asking the last out loud.

“No, we’ve been here for awhile but left to eat an early dinner. We’ve had less than stellar service since we arrived. It’s a little strange. Did you have any problems?”

From what I could tell the line was moving fairly quickly and another two people were helping check guests in.

Giving a confused look, he shook his head. “Just standard check in. What problems did you have?” he asked before his eyes went wide and I felt Alcide’s heat at my back.

Turning my head, I saw Quinn striding toward us with his lips set in a thin line. His eyes were narrowing more and more the closer he came until they were only slits and glowed yellow.

“Sookie,” he growled out as he tried to grab my arm.

Before I could blink Alcide was in front of me and I could only see his back. Turning my gaze to the right, Barry stood shocked with his mouth hanging open.

“I only want a few minutes alone with her. Get out of my way, Wolf,” Quinn snapped the last word and tried to push Alcide out of the way.

“Sookie, go on up.  I'll be up after I take care of my room.  Your bonded should be up in a few minutes, and you should be there when he rises,” Alcide said calmly as he shuffled to keep Quinn’s eyes off me.

Placing my hand on his back so that I could read him better I asked, “Are you sure? Maybe…”

“No maybe about it. Go. I'll be fine,” was his less than patient response.

Giving my own big eyes to Barry, I waved as I backed away.

 _“I'll talk to you later. Keep your eyes, ears, and mind open. Something is happening, and we need to find out what.”_ I finished just before I was standing in front of the elevators.

Barry’s only response was a slight nod of his head.

I kept my eyes on them as I waited for an elevator to arrive at the ground level. I was surprised by how easily Alcide kept Quinn back, but I was sure he didn’t want to make too big of a scene in the lobby with everyone watching.

Once the elevator door dinged showing the twentieth floor, I slipped out and quickly made my way to our room and inputting the code to get in along with the key card. I was snuggled into Eric’s side when I felt his body shift and arms envelop me.

“You smell of Were,” Eric rumbled deep from the top of my head. “We need to remedy that right away.”

“We can’t,” I protested softly as his mouth made its way from kissing the side of my neck and up to the corner of my lips.

“We can. We have time before our first meeting,” he whispered against my mouth. I could feel his cool breath as he spoke. I wanted nothing more than to get lost in Eric for the time being but I knew Alcide would be up soon, and I needed to tell him about Quinn, our problems with the rooms, the service in the restaurant or lack of, and how I had a feeling something was going on.

“Eric,” I said against his lips with a pout. “I want nothing more, but there are things I need to tell you and Alcide will be here any minute. We need to talk.  I'm sorry,” I whispered the last as he pulled his lips away and set his weight on his forearms as he looked down at me.

“Why is Alcide coming up here? Can’t he go to his room or something until he’s needed,” he asked as one hand made its way underneath my shirt and kept climbing until his fingers skimmed the underside of one breast.

“I doubt he has a room,” I started but gasped when his fingers first rolled and then pinched my nipple. Eric’s head came up from nuzzling my neck after hearing my statement.

“What do you mean he has no room. I personally booked our rooms. He’s supposed to have a room on the floor below us right next to the stairwell.”

Eric was starting to get angry, and in turn, I was getting upset from feeling it.

“Hey,” I said softly as I cupped his face with both my hands. “Calm down a little and let me explain. With the way your feeling and making me feel, I'm about ready to march down to the front desk and bitch slap someone.”

Throwing his head back, Eric laughed a deep, warm laugh that warmed me from tip to toe. Once he calmed down, he leaned down and gave me a slow, deep and wet kiss that was too short.

“By all means, we don’t want you to bitch slap the hotel staff. Tell me what’s happened to you today,” he finished with a kiss on my forehead and trailed his nose along mine before leaning slightly back and looking me in the eyes.

I proceeded to tell Eric what had happened since we’d arrived only stopping briefly when Pam came in and sat in a chair across the room. Once I was done, I could tell Eric was unhappy, but he was trying to reign it in. We were both new to this whole being bonded thing and unless he was careful I was easily overwhelmed by his emotions. Lust was a lot easier to handle and very gratifying to know I made him feel that way than when he was angry.

“You think something's going on, but haven’t gotten a good read on anyone?” he asked when I was finished.

“I know it sounds stupid, but yes. The front desk man tried to the best of his ability to check us in and thought it was strange; he couldn’t get any help and all the problems he was having. Why couldn’t he fix Alcide’s reservation or cancel the one for me in a different room? Plus, I just have a feeling. I don’t understand it, and I can’t shake it,” I explained.

“Do you want to stay elsewhere?” he asked before looking over to Pam. I watched as she pulled out her phone and starting touching the screen before she left the room.  “We need to be in the Queens room soon. I’ll have Pam inform Alcide where we’re going, and he’ll have to move us. Stick by my side tonight and let me know if you get anything, even a feeling. We’ll figure it out. I promise,” he whispered the last against my lips before he brushed his softly over mine.

Wrapping my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss, and tangling one hand in his hair, I started to push Eric down on the bed when there was a knock on the door. I let out a frustrated sound and Eric chuckled before giving me a quick kiss and getting up to get the door.

As soon as Alcide walked in Eric said, “Pack your bags we’re moving to another hotel.  Pam will let you know where we’re staying, and I’ll need you to take all of our luggage over. Sookie will be fine with me so you can stay there once you get everything moved over if you’d like. We need to get cleaned up and ready for our meeting, but I’ll talk to you once we’re done for the night.”

“Sounds good to me.  They were still unable to get me another room, and I don’t feel comfortable being that far away in case something happens especially now that we know Quinn would like to get you alone,” he said the last to me.

“You let me handle the Tiger,” Eric growled.

“You got it, boss,” Alcide chuckled. “I’ll see you later, Sookie. If you need me give me a call.”

“I will. Bye, Alcide,” I called as he left.

I was looking into the mirror as I put on my earrings and watched Eric as he came out of the bathroom in a nice black suit with a black shirt underneath.  I’d seen him in it before, and he looked just as gorgeous now as he had then. I was hoping that our meetings and getting to the new hotel wouldn’t take all night.  I wanted to spend some time peeling that suit off him and then kissing every inch of his body. I smiled as he walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist and planted a kiss below my ear.

“What were you thinking just then,” he murmured as he trailed kissed down my neck.

“How handsome you look in that suit and that I want to peel it off you and kiss every inch of your body,” I answered my voice coming out husky.

“I’m sure we can work something out, my beautiful bonded.” Stepping away, Eric eyed me from the tip of my black high heels to the top of my head and back down before smiling and lacing our fingers together. “We should go now before I can’t help myself and devour you,” he said with a wicked grin.

“I wouldn’t mind being devoured,” I responded with a smile and brushed up against him.

“Later,” he replied as he walked us to the door.

“Eric,” I called just before we reached the door. Stopping he turned and looked down at me. “Thank you for believing me.”

“You need to give yourself more credit. You’ve got great instincts, and you should trust them. I do,” he said softly but firmly.

Standing on my tip toes, I leaned up and gave him a short but deep kiss. “I love you, Eric Northman.”

“As I love you, Sookie Stackhouse.”

 

 

 

 


	9. Ostadig

**SPOV**

 

Eric stood at my side as the elevator descended to the lobby, his body tense and his emotions ricocheting from highly annoyed to extremely pissed off.  If he was human I could imagine him with his fists clenched by his sides, his hands opening and closing to release some of the tension, but there was no way he was going to let anyone that was around us know how he was feeling. Instead, when I snuck a peek to look up at him out of the corner of my eye, he was looking straight ahead stoically.

I often wondered how long it had taken him to learn to mask his thoughts and emotions. Was he like this when he was human? Definitely when he was out raiding but I doubt he held that stoic look on his face 24/7.  I was just happy that he let his mask drop more and more when he was around me.

Earlier when we had left our hotel room and met with the Queen in her suite, she proceeded to tell me that I was going to need to read every human on the premises.  Okay so maybe she didn’t say every single person, but it sure felt like it to me and going by what I felt from Eric he felt the same way.

To say that the Queen wasn’t happy when Eric informed her that we would be moving to another hotel and that she should do the same was an understatement.  More like she threw a royal fit that I’m sure could be heard at least three floors away.  I stood amazed as I watched Andre speak quietly to her in what sounded like French until she calmed and gave a firm nod toward one of her people.  You’d think she’d be happy we warned her we thought something was off but not even a little bit.

I had received a text from Alcide, while Eric spoke to Sophie-Ann, letting me know that we were all moved to another hotel, and his room was right next to mine with Pam’s on the other side of ours.  If anything happened we should be safe, but I was going to be vigilant in trying to figure out what was going on. Hopefully, Barry would be able to help me. I needed to find him and fill him in on what little I knew and get him and his vampires out of the hotel if it was at all possible.  If it were up to me, I would cancel this whole shindig, but it wasn’t, and I knew that we couldn’t evacuate every vampire staying in the hotel, or it would look conspicuous.  We were still going to try to make it look as if we were staying at the hotel so that Quinn or anyone else who was looking for us wouldn’t know that we had moved.

Once the elevator doors opened, Eric and I followed behind the Queen and her entourage. It seemed to me that having over twenty people following behind you was a little much, but what did I know.  Maybe it was a power play to show that Louisiana wasn’t as weak as some thought it was. I knew that having Eric by her side was a giant pro for her, and she wanted to keep it that way.

The closer we got to the area where all the vampires would mingle the more pressure I felt pressing in on my mind. Before now I hadn’t realized just how many humans would be here. I wasn’t ready to drop my shields and be assaulted by all the thoughts, but I knew I would soon have to. Sensing my unease, Eric’s hand slipped around my own and grasped it lightly before his thumb started to softly caress back and forth against my knuckles.

“My, my, my, you sure are attached to your little human,” the Queen sneered from behind us.  I could almost feel her distaste for Eric showing any kind of affection for me.

“Indeed, my Queen,” Eric said nonchalantly.  It was silent for only a moment before we heard a harrumph and Eric became even angrier. “We are growing closer to a large crowd, and I’m trying to help my bonded before she’s overwhelmed. If you want her to work at the best of her ability then yes, I will be attached to her. Not that I wouldn’t be otherwise.  She is my bonded, and her telepathy is already known by too many,” he said pointedly.

“Northman, I suggest you take pause before you think to speak to me that way again. Bonded or not, Ms. Stackhouse is an asset of _my_ monarchy, and I will do with her as I wish.”

Just as I was about to open my mouth to urge Eric to calm down and not do anything rash such as get us killed or for me to live the rest of my life in servitude to Sophie-Ann, I received a gentle push of warning through our bond.  Looking up I caught him staring down at me out of the corner of his eye and watched as he mouthed ‘Not now’ or at least that’s what I thought he had silently said to me.  I could read minds but not lips not that it mattered. I knew he didn’t want me to say anything and I wouldn’t.  I didn’t want either one of us doing something that would make our time here any less enjoyable than it already was.

Turning my head forward to the front of the elevator as the doors opened, Eric sent me a burst of approval. Had I really been that bad in the past that he thought I had no self-preservation instincts? Okay thinking back on it there were a few times I let my mouth and/or actions get me in trouble before I could think better of it but what’s a girl to do when she’s thrust into the supernatural world without warning.

We followed the queen and her entourage down the hallway and into a conference room that was being used for a meet and greet. Sophie-Ann went straight to an area with one ornate chair that seemed to be waiting for her and sat down with a look of total boredom.

“Ready,” Eric questioned quietly as he squeezed my hand. It was show time. Tensing my body for the onslaught of thoughts, I slowly lowered my shields and let the thoughts of the minds of those that were the closest trickle into my head and continued to let more and more in until every human thought that was in the room was swimming rampantly through my head. By the end, I was squeezing Eric’s hand hard enough that if he was human, I was sure I would have broken at least a bone or two. He took it like I knew he would and I knew he would have done the same even if he were human. As if nothing was happening. As if we were sitting on his couch watching a movie and holding hands. I felt nothing coming from him. He was emotionless as he stood sentry beside me and became my anchor.

It meant more than I could process at that moment. Not even Gran had supported me in this way. Not that she could.  Instead of being able to relish in how much Eric had come to mean to me since I’d walked into his bar, decided to give us a go, and how much he’d open himself up to me since he’d gotten his memories of our time together; I could only smile and send my love to him as I weeded through each thought trying to find a clue as to what was going on, to see if anyone was thinking anything about our queen to the left of us and anything about a weather witch. It was too much if I was honest with myself, but I had to do preserver and get through this night and the rest of the week.

We stood silently as King after King came to Sophie-Anne’s side.  It was monotonous as each one kissed her ass. It was widely thought that she had killed her last husband and I couldn’t understand why they would want to take that same chance.  Maybe they thought they could do the same.  It was very hard to understand the way vampires thought, but I believed whole-heartedly most thought they were invincible, and for the most part, they were sans sunlight, a stake to the heart, or losing their head.

It wasn’t until the King of Kentucky was chatting with Sophie-Anne that I noticed a strange buzzing around him. My eyes picked up nothing, but the longer he was in our company, the more intense the buzzing became and I realized there was something taking up space around him. A spell, maybe? Tilting my head slightly, I looked to Eric after he squeezed my hand. He was looking down at me with a quizzical eyebrow raised.

Did he not sense whatever that strange buzzing was and odd space around Kentucky? I wanted more than anything to ask but now was not the time. I could do no more than quickly look at him without letting those that surrounded us know that I sensed something strange.

“Isaiah, good to see you,” Sophie-Ann said with her fangs out. Ugh! Did she seriously like him? Think he was sexy? He looked like Davy Crockett with his leather pants and suede shirt.  Not a good look on him at all.

As I stepped closer to Sophie-Ann and the King of Kentucky, I felt Eric move along with me. It was then I noticed two mental signatures standing behind him.  Although I could detect their signatures, I couldn’t read their minds.  Who could cloak themselves where no one in the room seemed to know that they were present? Witches, perhaps? That definitely went along with my spell theory. I’d have to ask Eric to be certain or make a call to Amelia.

I noticed Kentucky give me a look out of the side of his eye before he stated, “I would love to talk more with you, my dear, but not with this little blonde gal around.”

Sophie-Ann’s eyes grew a fraction larger while I heard Eric growl from behind me. Great, just want I needed a pissed of Queen and an incensed Eric.

“Why ever would you need Sookie to leave for us to converse? She’s a mere human that works for me,” she replied haughtily.

“I know who she is,” Kentucky answered giving Sophie-Ann a look that showed he knew of my abilities, “and I don’t trust her.”

Well! As if! Surely he didn’t believe I could read vampire minds. If any vampire thought that I’d surely, be dead by now.

“We’ll speak later then,” Sophie-Ann said shaking her head, causing her hair to float around her face and then settle perfectly on her shoulders.  “Closer to dawn in my suite.”

By the lascivious smile on Kentucky’s face, he was looking forward to doing more than just talking when they met up again.  I hope Sophie-Ann left enough time to leave before dawn but if not that was her problem for not listening to our advice.  Vampires! They always think they know best all the damn time.

Oh well, I had minds to read and a Queen to please. Finding Barry’s mind, I found he was doing the same as I was although not having as easy of a time since he didn’t have a vampire attached to him. Not that he probably wanted one.  Since most of the humans were now in adjacent rooms, Barry and I tracked and read the minds of the employees as they came and went from the room.  Can you guess what we found? They were all singularly focused on their jobs and nothing else.  If I were a betting woman I’d bet they’d been glamoured but why?  The only reason I could think of was someone was trying to hide something. Barry had the same thought I had.  Someone or someones were up to no good, and we were going to found out what.

My eyes were traveling the room since we couldn’t mingle to make my job easier when I spotted Quinn on the other side of the room staring at me.  Seriously what did I briefly see in him? Now all I got was a creepy and dangerous vibe from him? I was almost glad that we were staying elsewhere so that I had an even smaller chance of running into him without Eric.  Not that Alcide couldn’t do the job because I believed he had a fighting chance but still it was best to keep as far away from Quinn as possible especially since we believed he was working for someone who’s intent was to take me for my telepathy.

Barry and I stayed across the room from each other as we finished reading everyone that was in the room and so far there was no weather witch and no one was thinking about usurping the Queen of Louisiana.  After it had seemed that most of the important vampires in the room had visited with Sophie-Ann, she cleared her throat which she didn’t need to do letting me know she wanted my attention. Instead of saying anything she gave me a questioning but annoyed look. I guess she couldn’t come right out and ask if I’d heard anything but still she didn’t have to be so rude. After shaking my head, she declared she was done with me for the moment.

“Andre has something he needs to speak to you about out in the hallway,” she said as she stood gracefully from her chair and started out of the room. When she noticed Eric still standing with Andre and me, her eyes flared before she flounced back over to us. “Northman, we are done here. Now follow me.”

“You have asked her to speak to Andre, and I will not be leaving my bonded’s side,” Eric replied calmly, not taking his eyes off her.

“Do you not trust her?” Sophie-Ann asked with amusement.

“I trust her impeccably, your Highness.”

Sophie-Ann quickly looked around the room before throwing her arm out in a strange, maddening way before swiftly leaving the room. I continued to stare after her wondering if she could act any more childish today when I felt Eric’s hand on the small of back indicating that I should follow Andre out into the hall. We were quiet for a few moments before Eric spoke.

“Did you wish to speak to Sookie? I’m sure you have better things to do with your time.”

I had a feeling that if I had been anyone else Eric would have added something about being with a human. It didn’t surprise me. I’d spent enough time around vampires to know how they talked and their disdain for humans.

“As a matter of fact I do,” Andre said to Eric before turning to me.  “Sophie-Ann would like you to read anyone that you can in the convention area where the booths are set up.  After that, you are free to leave.” After a brief pause, he added. “I also wanted to thank the both of you for warning us about the potential threat. You didn’t have to do that.”

Stunned for a moment, I said nothing. “No, we didn’t have to, but it was the right thing to do.”

“You’ve found yourself a fine human to bond with Northman. Now, I best be getting back to our Queen. If you found out any information you know how to get in touch,” he replied before vamping off.

Still stunned by Andre thanking me, I eventually stopped trying to wrap my head around it and said, “Well, I guess I need to get busy reading more minds. Can you show me where to go?”

Slipping an arm around my waist, Eric drew me closer before leaning down and placing a soft kiss on my lips.  It was in a way shocking.  Normally he kept that type of affection to when we were home.  Whatever brought it on made my lips tip up before I quietly asked, “What was that for? Not that I’m complaining but…”

“You weren’t expecting it,” he interrupted. “Maybe I want to keep you on your toes.” The right side of his mouth tipped up slightly before he pulled me to his side and started us down the hall.

“If that’s the way you’re going to keep me on my toes then I don’t mind at all.  Please keep me on the tips of my toes,” I replied in a hushed voice as Eric escorted me toward the convention part of the hotel.

Right away I was not impressed.  Upon entering the room and to the right was Bill’s booth where he was selling his vampire directory. When he first spotted me, I saw his face light up until he registered Eric behind me.  Turning his back to us, Bill pretended to be busy doing something. Anything but pay attention to us which was fine by me. We continued to walk by each booth, but there was nothing to be heard.  All the workers were either thinking about doing their job or what they wanted to be doing or who they wanted to be doing once they were done.  It seemed like the whole night was a bust.

We were getting ready to head to our new hotel when Eric was stopped by someone from Extreme(ly) Elegant Events who looked worried and beyond nervous.  I was actually afraid she might pee herself.

“Excuse me, Sheriff Northman,” the timid woman spoke looking up at him from behind a mess of unruly, brown hair.

I could understand why she was so nervous.  The look on Eric’s face from being stopped was not what you’d want to be on the receiving end of.  He was ready to leave, and I didn’t blame him. I was ready to get away from everyone and relax.

“Yes,” Eric grunted out looking as if he was getting ready to walk away before she could utter another word.

“I… I mean we, Extreme(ly) Elegant Events, are in charge of putting together the ceremony for the King of Mississippi and the King of Indiana’s marriage tonight and the priest we had scheduled to perform the ceremony has backed out, and we were informed that you could perhaps… maybe marry them,” she squeaked out the last part.

I watched as Eric stood motionless, staring at the poor woman until she looked as if she might run away crying.

“Eric,” I said placing my hand on his arm. “Are you a priest?”  I could not imagine Eric being a priest. It was almost laughable.

“Indeed I am,” Eric replied looking down at me with a strangely excited look I’d never seen on him before. “Church of the Loving Spirit. I got ordained over the Internet. Would like me to perform our marriage,” he asked with a smirk.

“Ah…our marriage?” This time it was me who squeaked out my words. I knew we were married by private ceremony from being bonded but was he talking about pledging? I wasn’t sure we were ready to bind our souls together for eternity. Maybe he was talking about a human marriage. Could Eric perform one of those? Something to think on later.

“Did someone say marriage?” Pam said in a crazy, happy way as she suddenly appeared out of nowhere on the other side of me. Damn vampire hearing. It had been quite a while since I saw that evil smirk on her face and I didn’t like it when it was aimed at me. Surely Pam didn’t approve, did she?

Letting out an annoyed grunt, Eric replied, “Yes, they need someone to officiate the King of Mississippi and the King of Indiana’s wedding.”

“Perfect,” Pam purred. Who knew she loved weddings so much?

The crowd started to part as the both kings made their way through hand in hand.  Looks like theirs wasn’t just a political move but also a love match which made me happy. While I was happy for them, I was also nervous because the last time I was in Russell’s presence I left a vampire body in his pool.  I wasn’t sure how he was going to feel about that. Eric looked down at me for a split second and sent a small amount of curiosity to me but went back to looking at the two kings approaching us.

“Sheriff,” Russell drawled, “I heard you might be of service to my groom and me.”

“I’d be happy to help,” Eric answered.

“Ms. Stackhouse, how lovely to see you again.  It’s good to see you feeling better.”

“Thank you, it’s lovely to see you too,” I answered barely holding in my nerves.

“Bart, honey, you’ve got to meet this amazing young lady.  She’s was staked by one of those crazed Fellowship followers at a bar in Jackson.”

Eric growled, but Bart looked more than intrigued.  “Really? How did you manage that?” he asked as his gaze perused my entire body as if he’d be able to see where I was stacked.

“Mr. Edgington was kind enough to see that I was treated,” I simply replied.  Yes, the king had helped me, but it was also Eric’s blood that had healed me.  I tried to keep my mind in the present, but as the vampires around me talked, it kept going back to that night with Eric and me in bed. I could feel my skin flush from the heat of what we had and almost done. It made me wonder what would have happened if Bubba hadn’t interrupted. Even back then Eric alluded to having feelings for me.  Would I have been open to the idea if I had not been hurt by Bill? Would I have given him a chance back then? Would he have opened himself up to me and be the man he is now?  We would never know, but I did know that I was happy with where we were in our relationship.

“It was nothing, darling. After all, you were the one staked by trying to save a vampire in my area, in my employ.  However, I do believe you left me a little present in thanks,” Russell said playfully.

I guess he wasn’t mad about me breaking Bill out and leaving Lorena at the bottom of his pool.

Quinn appeared at the entrance and looked over at the crowd we’d drawn. “If Sheriff Northman has agreed to officiate then I believe we only need for him to get ready before we’re ready for your wedding.

I watched as Russell’s eyes twinkled. He was excited, and the smile on Indiana’s face was evidence enough that he too was in love and ready.

Russell looked to Eric, who nodded his agreement before bending down and whispering in my ear to stay with Pam before he vamped out of the room.  Russell nodded to Quinn, who promptly replied that they should follow him to the ceremony room.

Russell turned quickly to me before heading off to be married. “I’m happy to see you with the Northman. He’s a good vampire to have at your back.”

I wanted to say something about I wasn’t with Eric because of his standing but because I wanted to be, but he was already walking away to follow Quinn.

“Are you ready,” Pam asked her face back to its blank facade.

“As ready as I’ll ever be. I’ve never been to a vampire wedding before.”

“I know, Sookie,” she replied as if I’d said the most stupid thing in the world.

I followed along with Pam at my side as we made our way to the ceremony room and to our seats. Along the way, I saw a few people who I recognized. Rasul, Carla, and Jake.  In front of us stood a platform where we watched Russell and Bart take their places. Over to the side of the stage stood Quinn looking like an idiot in some strange genie outfit.  I wanted to laugh, but the room dead quiet, and I didn’t think the vampires in the room would find it appropriate.

Next Eric strode in wearing a black velvet cloak. His face was hidden behind the hood as he placed himself in front of both kings.

“Let the ceremony begin,” Quinn spoke to the crowd.

I watched as Eric’s hands rose to push the hood back.  I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. It was almost as if I’d never witnessed his beauty. He was gorgeous with his dimple in his chin, blue eyes shining and his hair slicked back while his face was serious and solemn. Although his face showed nothing but his commanding tone, I could feel that Eric was secretly happy with how attracted I was to him.

“We are here to witness the joining of these two kings. They have both come to an agreement to join their states for one hundred years. During this time, they may not marry another, form an alliance with any other unless it is mutually agreed upon.  Also, they must have one conjugal visit per year.  Russell Edgington, King of Mississippi, do you agree upon this oath?”

“I do,” Russell agreed.

“Bartlett Crowe, King of Indiana, do you agree upon this oath?”

“I do,” Bart agreed.

Eric put a goblet under the joined hands of Russell and Bart while also whipping out a knife and cutting their wrists.  For some reason, I was not expecting this part.  Even though I’d had my share of blood exchanges with Eric, it wasn’t like this. Ours was private. It made me wonder if afterward everyone stayed to watch them consummate their marriage.

Once their cuts had healed first Russell and then Bart took a sip from the goblet. Then they kissed in a tender fashion before it turned more passionate than I thought was appropriate in front of all these people. Luckily, it seemed we weren’t to witness the two having sex here in this room. Instead, the two kings moved on to signing a contract.

Once they were done, Quinn stated, “You may now move to the reception room.”

I wanted to wait for Eric, but Pam ushered me out and into the next room. As we stood to wait for Eric or at least I was, I decided I’d try to see if I could find anything in the minds of those around us. I was beginning to think I’d never find anything and feeling quite useless when I found a human brain I couldn’t read. When I started to try and get a little closer, Pam stopped me with a firm hand to my arm.

“Where to you think you’re going? Eric will be here soon and then we are going to leave,” she said giving me a pointed look.

“I think I found something. I want to get closer,” I whispered to her, hoping no one else heard me.

Looking around the room quickly she finally gave in. “Hurry,” she said before she followed closely behind me.

No matter how close I got, I still couldn’t read the man.  Taking a quick look back at Pam and seeing her annoyed face I decided to do something a little more drastic.

“Hello,” I said to the woman standing by the man’s side.  She was cautious as no one had approached her and … her husband. “Were you at the wedding? It was my first vampire wedding,” I whispered in a gossipy way.

“Yes,” she replied looking at her husband looking as if she wanted him to save her from talking to me.

“I’m sorry your husband just looks so familiar,” I finally said to add something else to the conversation since it seemed odd I was still standing there.

“Oh, why yes,” she seemed momentarily relieved.  “Julian is on TV. He’s a weatherman.”

BINGO!

“Really!,” I probably said a little too excitedly. “Pam, did you hear that? Weren’t you just telling me how interested in the weather Sophie-Ann is?”

“Yes,” Pam answered as she grabbed each of them by their arms to make sure they didn’t get away.  “I’d love to introduce you to her. She’s absolutely fascinated by the weather. Did you know that the summit was supposed to be held months ago but was postponed because of the weather.”

Yeah, now her husband, the witch, was paying attention and it looked like he was desperate to get away.

Feeling a large cool hand on my back, I looked up and over my shoulder to find Eric there. Pam gave him a brief nod before she began to guide the couple to wherever Sophie-Ann was.  Score one for me! I figured out there was a possible weather witch and found him.

“Are you ready?” Eric asked even as he was leading me out of the room.

“What about Pam?” I asked looking back to see if I could find her.

“She’ll be right behind us. Don’t worry.”

 

OoOoO

 

Eric and I were walking along the hallway finally able to leave for the night.  It had been a long day, and I was ready for some sleep. Not really paying attention to my surroundings, I noticed a can of soda sitting in a potted plant. Without even thinking about it I picked it up to throw away. That was until I noticed it was a lot heavier than any soda can should ever weight. Stopping in my tracks, I grasped it in both my hands, causing Eric also to stop.

“Sookie? I thought you were ready to go?” he asked before his eyes widened and he stepped toward me. “Give it to me.” He commanded.

“I can’t. This isn’t an ordinary can,” I stated the obvious. Eric wouldn’t be acting the way he was if I just happened to pick up some trash on our way out. It was then I noticed that strange buzzing that had been around Kentucky earlier.  I felt it coming closer and wanted to move closer to Eric but not with a bomb in my hands. I wanted to point or something, but I was afraid if I jostled the bomb it might go off. Instead, I tried nodding my head in the direction it was coming from, but Eric only stared at me with worry.

“Look” I called out when a figure came into view.  Eric stepped in between us and crouched ready to defend me.

“I am not going to harm the human,” the strange woman said as she stepped around Eric.  “What have you got there?” she asked inquisitively with her eyes on the can.

“I believe it’s a bomb,” I whispered as if merely calling it a bomb would make it go off.

“It’s a bomb. I can smell it,” Eric stated coming around to stand at my side.

“I see. My name is Batanya. I noticed that you somehow found Clovache and I earlier when we were with the King of Kentucky. How did you do that? Are you a witch?”

“Oh, no. I’m Sookie Stackhouse, definitely not a witch,” I answered and then looked to Eric. I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to tell her what I could do although she seemed to do pretty well on her own.

“It’s up to you,” Eric answered before his eyes went back to the bomb in my hands.

Deciding that I would tell her, I explained how I had registered them earlier in the night.

“The king wanted to have a meeting in the room across the hall, but I will advise against it. Maybe we will meet again. Perhaps tomorrow morning?” Batanya asked.

“Oh, do you work for Kentucky?” I asked.

“Yes, he hired us at a great expense,” she answered.

“May I suggest you find other accommodations for the duration of your stay?”

“Interesting,” she spoke giving me an odd look. “Thank you. I hope to see you again, Miss Stackhouse. Have your vampire explain where I come from,” she said as she started to make her way down the hall.

“Nice meeting you,” I said before she was out of sight.  Turning back to Eric, I asked, “Where does she come from?”

“Another dimension.  She’s a Britlingen. They are bodyguards brought over by witches, and they are very expensive but enough about them. I need you to give me that bomb, Sookie so that we can leave and go to our hotel. Doesn’t that sound nice?” Eric explained but then turned serious, his eyes never leaving the bomb.

What I wasn’t expecting was for Bill to show up out of one of the doors closest to us and then Quinn to show up with a couple of guys from security.  Maybe Batanya had alerted them to our problem. I would have felt better with it just being Eric and I. I didn’t want anything to happen to anyone, and with each step closer they made in our direction the more nervous I became.

“Please don’t get any closer,” I whimpered out. “It’s a bomb.”

“The bomb squad is coming,” one of the security guys said. “It will only be a few minutes.”

“No,” I sighed out.

“Just put the bomb down, Sookie,” Bill said as he took a step closer.

“I can’t. I’m too scared,” I barely got out in a whisper.

“Hand it to me,” Eric said from beside me. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

They were coming at me from all sides, and I didn’t like it. “I don’t want anything to happen to you,” I said pointedly but felt as if tears were about to make their way to my eyes any second now.

“Nothing will happen to either of us. I promise you. Feel me,” Eric implored pointing to my chest.

“Feel me,” Quinn mimicked. “Please, how stupid are you Sookie? Why would you bond yourself with him? Him! Let alone anyone of those damn vampires. He’s the worst.”

Eric growled, and I could feel that he wanted to rip Quinn apart and might have if I didn’t have a bomb in my hands. Instead, he turned to me putting one hand on my elbow, steadying me.

“The bomb robot will be here any moment. Everyone but the woman with the bomb needs to leave. Now,” the security guy insisted, but it had no effect on all the supernaturals that were around me. They acted as if they hadn’t heard him.

“No,” said Eric in a rumble leaving no room for argument.  I guess he had heard him but after a few moments the security men left leaving us with Bill and Quinn.  I wanted to roll my eyes or throw the bomb at them and have Eric whisk us away. I didn’t, but just barely.

“Sookie,” Eric said bending down until we were eye level. “It’s time to give me the bomb.  No more distractions. Do you trust me?”

For a brief moment, something flickered in his eyes and our bond. Did he really think I didn’t trust him? My wanting to keep him safe that was the only reason I still had the stupid bomb.

“I trust you with my life, Eric, this isn’t about that. I want you safe.”

“And I want you safe. I can take the bomb and dispose of it faster than you can blink. I’d never do anything to jeopardize your safety. Let me take it now.”

“Okay,”  I said shakily. “But if you die, I’ll find someway to bring you back only so I can kill you.”

“Whatever you say, dear one.”

In one blink my hands were no longer holding the bomb, but a rose. Where had Eric gotten it? I hadn’t noticed him with it before. Unsure what to do, I took a step back away from Quinn and Bill only to feel Eric behind me. Spinning around I looked him over thoroughly with my eyes before I launched myself at him.

Catching me in his arms, Eric nuzzled his nose into the side of my neck as he whispered that he and everything was going to be okay.

“You’re going to be okay, and I’m unharmed,” he murmured one last time before I heard the elevator doors closed.

I wanted to ask why we were in the elevator but couldn’t manage to speak.  My adrenaline had plummeted the moment I saw Eric back without the bomb and that he was in one piece. We were only in the elevator for a short period of time before the doors opened and Eric walked out not saying a word.  I was still curious but not enough to detach myself. Instead, I clutched myself tighter to Eric as he walked a short distance before I felt the night breeze hit my back. Eric took a quick right and then took flight.  My stomach had dropped for only a second before I felt Eric wrap me tighter in his arms. This was the first time he had flown with me, and I wanted to enjoy it, but I couldn’t manage to lift my head out of the crook of his neck.

“You’re safe,” Eric spoke only moments before touching down at our new hotel.

“I know. I’m always safe with you. I’m sorry, Eric. I was so scared…”

“So was I,” he interrupted and continued walking into the hotel and took the stairs instead of the elevator. Once he opened the door to our room, he spoke again, “No more picking up trash. I don’t know if my undead heart can take it.”

He was trying to joke, but I knew he was serious.  I’d never look at a Dr. Pepper can the same way again, and I knew for sure I’d never drink one.

“I promise,” I replied, cradling his cheek in my hand. Closing his eyes, Eric leaned into my hand before placing a kiss on my palm and then wrapping an arm around me as he laid me down on the bed. Pulling me close, Eric tucked me under his chin while running a hand up and down my back.  Every once in a while, I could feel Eric inhale as if he was smelling the top of my head. I didn’t care, and I thought it was actually kind of sweet. I had a feeling that tonight had shaken him up and I wanted to make him forget earlier and live in the here and now with me.

Rising up, I planted an elbow in the mattress as I placed soft kisses all over Eric’s face. Once I made it to his full lips, I was graced with a smile that was almost as bright as the sun itself.  Leaning down I ran my tongue along his lower lip until he opened for me allowing me to caress my tongue against his first slowly as if we had all the time in the world and not the few short hours until dawn.

Eric let me set the pace as I licked, kissed and nibbled his sensual lips. It didn’t take long before my pace quickened and I deepened our kisses.  Breaking apart, I sat up and slowly started unbuttoning his shirt one button at a time placing a kiss on his chest after each one was undone. The rumble from Eric’s chest let me know he approved and made me want him all the more and to quicken my pace.

“Sookie,” Eric groaned out as I reached for his belt. “Wait.” Pulling me up his body, I didn’t know what to think. Never had Eric stopped sex nor would I have ever guessed that he would. Feeling my confusion, Eric kissed me hungrily for only a moment and then pulled back giving me a reassuring smile.

“Before… tonight… I love you, Sookie. I wanted you to know that before another second passed by. I don’t know what I’d do without you in my life, and it’s not because we are bonded but because of my feelings for you. My love for you. If you had...”

“I love you too, Eric,” I interrupted. “I understand because I feel the same way about you.”

“As I’ve said before I’m new to all of this. My feelings and being in a relationship. I felt you should know,” he tried to explain.

“You are doing a fantastic job. I have to admit I struggle too. I don’t know what I’m doing either.” Eric gave me an inquisitive look. “I’m a little unsteady. You’re a vampire, which of course you’re aware of,” I couldn’t help but laugh at the look on Eric's face. He probably thought I was losing my marbles. “You’re also a Viking. What I’m trying to say is I’m not sure how much I should express my feelings for you. I understand about not doing so when we are around others, but when we’re alone... I feel like I’m messing this all up and not explaining myself very well.”

Eric was angry and confused with my horrible way of trying to explain myself, and I couldn’t let him feel like he was to blame.  I should have talked to him about it before, but we’d never really had the chance.

“You’ve given me no cause to feel this way. You’ve opened up to me about your feelings and what you want more than I ever thought was possible. My problem is your not the mushy, gushy romantic type and I don’t want my affection to become… I don’t know the right word for it. Annoying or too much. I want you to know I mean it and that what I feel for you is special. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, and each night I’m with you I love you more and more. You’re confidence in me, and my ability since we met has changed the way I feel about myself. If you hadn’t come into my life, I don’t think I would have ever thought about going to school online to better myself and my life. You’ve done that and so much more. Then tonight I tell you I have a bad feeling about the hotel and your belief in me is astounding. No questions asked you trusted my judgment and had us move here.  You’ve done all of that and more. I’m afraid I’m not doing this right.

“I know plenty of women have thrown the words of love to you, so I don’t want my words to seem cheap. Does any of that make sense?” God, I hoped it didn’t sound like I was rambling. I only wanted to explain myself and why I was so unsure.

Looking up at me with a smile on his face, Eric cupped my cheeks before placing the most tender kiss on my lips. He used all his thousand years of kissing experience in that one kiss, and I knew when it was over I had a dazed and glowing look on my face.

“You’re words of affection will never sound cheap to my ears, my dear Sookie. Never worry about expressing how you feel to me no matter if it’s good or bad.  Yes, many women and men have said they loved me, but from them, they were only words to get in my favor. I knew what they were doing and never cared. Each time you tell me that you love me, I treasure it beyond measure and wonder how you can love me. I understand why you loved the other Eric, but not me. I’m…”

“No, you’re just as easy to love if not more so because you are _real_ ,” I interrupted. Eric had lived too long not seeing any good in himself. Why couldn’t he see what I saw?

“He was just as real,” he stated not looking me in the eye.

“Of course, he was real because he’s _you_. That other Eric hadn’t lived for over a thousand years. He was sweet and loving and had no supernatural politics following him around, but he was lost. Your experiences make you who you are. You are fiercely intelligent, passionate, loyal to those who have earned it, and after all these years you still have a sense of humor, something I haven’t found in many vampires. And underneath it all you are still loving and having your love now means more to me than when I was the only person you knew. If I had to choose between him and you, you’d win every single time,” I vowed, wanting to make sure Eric knew he was _the_ _one_ for me. “You are the one that I bonded to, the one I choose to spend the rest of my life with. YOU. ARE. MY. FOREVER.”

Emotions too many to name swam in Eric’s eyes and through our bond before he crushed his lips to mine.  I knew my lips would be bruised tomorrow morning, but it was worth it to feel Eric like this. Overcome by emotion and unable to stop himself as he ripped our clothes off without breaking away.  Seconds before plunging deep inside of me, Eric broke away from my lips to vow reverently. “Forever.”

 

 

 

 

 


	10. Accepterar ni mig?

**EPOV**

Waking up to Sookie’s warm body wrapped around mine was something I’d never get tired of even if I rose with her by my side every night of my existence.  It was something I’d never done before, but now that I had I was addicted to feeling her hot breath bathing my skin as the warmth from her body transferred to me. The way her arm would be around my waist, and sometimes she would be holding my hand in hers.

FOREVER

Last night she had told me I was her forever. Too caught up in the moment and her words, I didn’t question whether or not she meant her forever or mine. I couldn’t imagine my life without her in it now, but I’d never try to make her my child if she didn’t want it. Maybe the other in her would prolong her life. I didn’t know, but I was willing to try anything to make her mine for the rest of eternity.  When this whole summit mess was over, I needed to figure out what else Sookie was and I needed to somehow mention it to her without her freaking out on me.

“I know that you’re awake,” Sookie’s voice rose from my chest as her finger started to trace the outlines in my stomach.

Turning quickly, I surprised her by pinning her to the bed with one of my hands grasping both of hers and bringing them above her head and settling the rest of my body on top of hers and between her legs. I could only chuckle as she squeaked out my name and then started to pant as I trailed kisses down her neck.

“Älskare, you smell of _us_ ,” I growled against her skin as I nipped along her collarbone.

“Us?” she questioned in a heavy pant.

“Your intoxicating smell, sex and my blood.”

“Really?” she questioned with a whimper as my hand glided along the smooth skin of her inner thigh and skated across the area she wanted me most.

“I love the smell of us combined. It screams _mine_ ,” I answered just before I sucked her pert nipple into my mouth.

Knowing that I rendered Sookie speechless, I thought she had forgotten about my comment of her smelling like sex and my blood, but I should have known she wouldn’t forget.  I could tell she was getting ready to ask once the delirium of her orgasms had faded.

“Eric,” Sookie whispered my name as she ran her hand through my hair and every occasionally, scratching my scalp causing me to purr in a very manly way. That was the way Sookie thought of it, and I could tell from how happy I felt her get every time the sound escaped my chest.

“Hmm,” I hummed as I nuzzled her once more and played innocent.

“Is the smell strong?” she finally asked.  She wasn’t sure how to ask me. Afraid I’d get offended and unsure if she should be offended. I almost wanted to laugh.

“Not strong. I can tell you showered during the day and washed much of my smell off you. Why? Does it bother you to smell of me and our sex?”

“Not of you, but I’d rather not be walking around a convention area filled with vampires who can smell… our sex,” she said with a rising blush.

“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about.  It’s natural. No one is going to think less of you because you had sex with your bonded,” I responded cupping one of her glorious ass cheeks in my hand.

She let out a defeated sigh knowing I was right.  “I’m not ashamed or embarrassed about the actual deed it’s just… I don’t like the idea of anyone smelling it.”

“Deed?” I questioned in amusement. Deed was the last thing I’d call what we had done last night or earlier.  I’d prefer she called it mind blowing, toe curling sex but since I could tell this bothered her, I wouldn’t question her use of words.  Through the bond, I knew how she felt as each orgasm I gave her left her breathless and sated.

Sookie lifted her head to give me the stink eye I knew she didn’t mean.

“Even though most Supernatural creatures have a heightened sense of smell that doesn’t mean they are going around sniffing for sex, Sookie.  Vampires sense of smell is so extreme we rarely take in the air of our surroundings unless it’s for security purposes.  If you knew how badly a room full of humans smelled you’d understand. We must dampen our senses when out in public otherwise, all the smells and sounds would drive us mad.  If someone is sniffing around, then it’s because they want to.”

“So, you wanted to smell our… sex?”  she asked raising her eyebrows in a knowing way and making her sleep-self look even more adorable than she already was.

Taking a deep breath so that she could see and feel my chest expand a deep smile formed on my face as I watched her cheeks pink up while dipping her head down to then look at me from under her eyelashes.

“The simple answer is yes.  But there are no words to describe the way your smell calls to me, excites me and calms me all at the same time.  You smell of my homeland; wheat, sunlight, and honey. And now that we are bonded my scent is mingled with yours and my blood screams ‘MINE’. Don’t get mad,” I said trying not to smile. I knew Sookie hated hearing that four letter word, but I wanted, to be honest with her. From the bond, I could feel that she was only slightly perturbed with me saying it.

“I know you don’t mean or say ‘MINE’ the way most Supes do, but it’s ingrained in me to fight it.  Plus, I think claiming is more of a male trait. I’m not saying that there aren’t times I don’t want to claim you because there have been a few times at Fangtasia when I’ve heard what some of the customers were thinking, and I wished my name was tattooed across your forehead.”

“Min älskade,” I spoke quietly as I pulled her to me nuzzling her neck.  Love burst from me from her words.  Having Sookie wanting to claim me did the opposite of what it did to her.  It turned me on making me want to skip our duties for the night and show her what a proper claiming was.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t spend the whole night in bed or even another thirty minutes.  We had to get ready and make our way back to the Summit.  Placing a kiss that was a promise for later upon her soft plump lips, I pulled away.  “Thank you. Jag älskar dig. We need to get ready for Sophie-Ann’s trial, but when we get back, I promise to let you claim me.”

Nipping her lips one final time, I stood from the bed with Sookie in my arms and headed for the bathroom.

“I can’t believe they are still going to have her trial.  Carter’s death months ago should have been the end of these allegations,” Sookie sulked as she started to get ready.

“Everything will be fine I promise, min älskade.  No matter what happens tonight at the trial we will be safe,” I assured her from the shower.

“Do you think they’ll find her guilty?” She asked more than a little worried.

“I don’t know that’s why I made contingency plans just in case.  There’s no evidence only heresy, but without knowing who’s on the jury, it’s hard to tell.”

“How do you know there isn’t any evidence?”

“Because both of them wanted to kill the other to get the other’s state and it wouldn’t be wise for there to be any way for evidence to show up.”

“How do you know?”

“Because it’s what I would do.”

“Right,” she replied tightly and left the bathroom.

Fucking hell.

Quickly finishing my shower and drying off, I made my way into the room to find Sookie sitting on the bed facing the windows. We didn’t have time for this, but I couldn’t let us leave this room with her feeling… I wasn’t sure what she was feeling, but the pain in my chest was telling me it wasn’t anything good.

“I’m sorry, Eric.” She spoke still looking out the window with her shoulders hunched over.

“Sookie…you know I’m not a good… man. I’ve never tried to hide who I am from you.”

In all my thousand years, I never thought I’d have to answer to anyone and now here was this tiny blonde sitting in front of me.

“Eric,” Sookie spoke softly as her arms went around my waist. When had she gotten up from the bed and made her way over here? “Please, don’t feel this way,” she pleaded, looking up at me with wide eyes filled with tears.

“Don’t feel that way about the things I have done in my past. I can’t change them, and even if I could, I wouldn’t want to.  I have reasons for everything I have done in my long life. I’ve done them to protect me and mine, and I will continue to do so.  If you can’t accept that, then you need to tell me right now.”

I could not let Sookie, even though she was the love of my undead life, make me feel guilty.  That was a path that would only lead to destruction.

“No, no, no, no! What you’re feeling is killing me.  Don’t Eric. Please don’t!  I love you so much. Beyond any words imaginable,” she rushed out.

“You may love me but do accept who am I and what I’ve done and may have to do in the future?”  I questioned.  The thought that if Sookie said no made me want to tear the entire hotel apart before my heart shattered.

Placing both of her hands on my chest, Sookie looked up at me. Sadness and regret were etched on her face making me hate my words but knowing they had to be said.

“I know we don’t have time tonight to go into a deep discussion but trust me Eric that I do love and accept who you are. I’m so sorry about how I responded earlier.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond.  With Sookie’s reaction earlier, she didn’t seem like she accepted that part of me, but she was right we didn’t have time for this conversation.  Was it possible that we had bonded too early without me making sure she had thought everything through?

“You are right we don’t have the time to discuss this tonight. I’d like to think about if you can truly accept me during our time here and once we get back to Shreveport we can reconvene.”

A tear slipped out of the corner of her and trailed down her cheek. “You’re disappointed in me,” she said softly. I could tell her was holding back a sob on her last word.

“I love you, Sookie. Now we must be going.” Swiping my thumb along her chin, I wiped away her tear before turning toward the door.

“But you’re still disappointed,” she said following.

“Yes, I’m disappointed in you and myself. I will not lie. Please come. We cannot be late for the trial.”

Just before the elevator doors opened, Sookie took a step in front of me tipping her head back letting me see her sad eyes. “I really am sorry.” Placing her hand on my chest, she stood on her tip toes and placed a hesitant kiss on my chin.

“I know, Sookie.” Leaning down, I placed a kiss to her soft pink lips before pulling back as the door opened.

The second we stepped off the elevator we were greeting by Andre who for a vampire looked frazzled.  I guess if I loved my maker and there was a possibility he would be experiencing the true death by the end of the night I’d feel the same way.  Instead, I could only be so lucky. It had been a long time since I’d felt him in the bond and I wanted to keep it that way.

“Come the trial is starting in a few minutes. Sookie make sure to read everything and let Northman know. He’ll get word to me.”

“Okay,” Sookie said then looked up at me sadly.

Taking Sookie’s hand in mine, we made our way to the convention hall only to be stopped by the Ancient Pythoness herself.  She gripped Sookie’s other arm and stared at Sookie in a way that scared me and sent horrified shivers through Sookie.

“It’s good to see you following your instincts little girl.  Keep it up,” she said with a toothless smile.

“Who was that?” Sookie asked as the Ancient Pythoness made her way to the stage with the help of her handmaidens.

“That is the Ancient Pythoness,” I spoke quietly in her ear.

We watched as five vampires seated themselves on the stage with the Ancient Pythoness in the middle as we made our way to our seats beside Pam.

I suppressed a growl when Quinn made his way to the stage stating the trial could begin.

Sophie-Ann was escorted into the room and onto the stage with a guard on each side. I watched as Andre leaned forward in his seat looking nervous for a vampire.

“Henrik Feith, state the case of Arkansas,” the King of Missouri said.

I didn’t listen to what he had to say until one of Sookie’s fingers started tapping on my hand.

“Someone told him that,” she said quiet enough for only me to hear.

“Told him what?” I questioned against her ear.

“That Sophie-Ann was planning to kill Henrik.  He was going to let the lawsuit drop, but now he’s afraid for his life.”

Before I could question her, Sookie stood up, speaking, “She doesn’t want to kill you.”

Dear Gods help me. She was going to get us both killed.

“Whoever told you that Sophie-Ann wanted to kill you is most likely behind Jennifer Carter’s death,” she spoke making her way to into the isle.

“Silence!” The Ancient Pythoness called out as she sat on the edge of her throne and now glared at Sookie. “What right do you have to speak at these proceedings?”

“None at all, Your Majesty, but I know the truth.”

“If you know the truth then why did I leave my cave to attend this hearing?”

I stood behind Sookie with my hands on her shoulders giving her the courage to finish speaking.

“While I may know the truth, I can’t get justice done.”

I felt Sookie’s panic before it quickly went away and her body tense underneath my hands.

“Then tell us what you know,” the Ancient Pythoness demanded.

“Someone told Henrik that the Queen of Louisiana wanted to have him killed so that he would testify against her.”

“She didn’t want to have me killed?” Henrik asked from beside his lawyer.

“No, she didn’t,” Sookie replied making her way to the front of the room. I kept my place behind her giving her my support and protection.

“How do we not know you’re not lying. You work for her after all.” Henrik stated.

“Are you a seer, little girl,” the Ancient Pythoness asked.

“No, ma’am.  I’m a telepath, “Sookie answered with her shoulders back. She was becoming proud of who she was. I couldn’t be prouder of her at that moment if not a little afraid now that every vampire in the room knew she could read minds.

“Can you read vampire minds?” the Ancient Pythoness asked.

You could feel the room grow quiet.  If a vampire thought Sookie could read their mind, they would kill her in one of her heartbeats that I treasured.

“No, ma’am I cannot. I read this all from Mr. Feith’s lawyer.”

“Hmmm,” the Ancient Pythoness hummed.  “Indeed. Sophie-Ann Leclerq, is this true?”

“Yes, I offered Henrik a place within my state and my protection,” Sophie-Ann answered regally.

There was a long silence before anyone spoke.

“Sophie-Ann Leclerq, I declare you innocent of murdering your husband, and by law and right Arkansas is yours.” Turning her head eerily, the Ancient Pythoness asked, “Now, that you know you have protection Henrik who told you that the Queen of Louisiana and Arkansas wanted you killed?”

Before he could speak, Henrik had a wooden arrow sticking out of his chest. The humans cried out as the Ancient Pythoness demanded to know what had happened, vampires sit the floor to escape the same fate as Henrik, while I threw myself over Sookie and watched as Henrik hit the floor and turned into a pool of black and red. Another arrow flew passed where he had been standing to lodge itself in the far wall.  Someone didn’t want him to answer the question. By the time, I had Sookie up, and on her feet, the assassin was dead by a Britlingen.

Interesting.

Holding Sookie to me, we stood out of the way by the Louisiana court and behind the Queen with the room in chaos.  They were questioning if anyone had seen the assassin and if anyone knew him. I was sure they would find no leads as to who the assassin was.

“Do we have to stay for the ball?” Sookie asked looking up at me.

“You don’t want to stay? You look beautiful.” I was remiss that I hadn’t told her earlier in the night.

“No, I’m getting a headache,” she said putting a hand to her head and trying to look pained.  I knew she was faking it, but I didn’t really want to stay any longer either.

“Then we shall get you back to the hotel so you can rest. Let’s give our goodbyes to the Queen, and I need to let Pam know that we are leaving.”

It didn’t take long to for us to leave. Sophie-Ann was beyond happy that she wasn’t going to be meeting the true death and that she had also gotten Arkansas.  I did notice Sookie slipping a piece of paper in the Queens' hand though as we left.

We didn’t speak until we were back at our hotel, in our room and Sookie was taking off her dress and jewelry.

“Why fake a headache?” I asked taking off my tie and jacket and placing them on a chair.

“Because I have something I want to tell you and I couldn’t do it with anyone around. Can we sit down?” she asked nervously.

“Sookie, you can tell me anything. I want you to know that,” I said as I took her hand and lead her over to the bed.

“Even after earlier?” she asked biting her lip.

“Always, no matter what.  I will always be here for you.”

“Why do I feel like there’s more to that statement. Like we’re over after tonight.”

I watched as Sookie’s eyes filled with tears, and she tried to keep them in.

“That’s entirely up to you.  We can’t be together if you can’t accept my past, Sookie.  I am vampire, and I will kill again. Not for fun or sport but because I must.  I killed during my human days too because again I had to.  I want you to give it some time. Don’t rush to answer because you’re afraid you’re going to lose me.”

“But I don’t want to lose you,” she cried clutching my shirt.

“I don’t want to lose you either, but you know I’m right, Sookie.  Please give it time. Now, let’s sit so you can tell me what you wanted to tell me.”

Sookie wiped a stray tear that broke my heart, but I had to be strong.  I didn’t know when I’d have to scheme or kill someone next. It could be tomorrow, a year from now, ten years from now or a hundred (probably a lot sooner than I wanted), but the longer we were together, the harder it would be when that day came if she couldn’t accept me.

“I… I… this seems so irrelevant now. I just want to talk to about earlier and try to explain but I can’t because I had a stupid initial reaction to what you were saying. I immediately felt bad about it, but I understand why you want me to think about it. I do, and I’m sorry I felt that way.” She spoke softly and kept brushing away her tears.  Each time feeling like a dagger in my heart.

“I know you’re sorry. I know. Please tell me what you needed to say to me in private,” I spoke looking her in the eye and taking one of her hands in mine. I didn’t want her to think I was heartless. This was hard for me too, but it was for the greater good. I needed to know where she stood.

After sitting in silence for a few moments, I decided to break the quiet and get her talking. “What was on the piece of paper you slipped into the Queen’s hand tonight?”

“Oh, you saw that?” she asked finally looking at me.

“Not much gets by me. What was it?”

“I had an idea, and I knew we were leaving tomorrow and hadn’t had a chance to talk to her in private, so I wrote her a note,” she answered.

“Are you going to tell me what it said?” I asked gently.  Sookie was nervous but also sad, and I knew she was having a hard time talking.

“It was a suggestion that she marry Andre since he’s her child and she can trust him. I’ve seen the affection they have toward one another. It makes sense at least to me.”

“It would be a wise move,” I said thoughtfully.  “Is there anything else? There was no reason to be nervous about slipping her a note.”

“I don’t know the protocol,” she answered looking away.

“Sookie, you’ve saved her ass more than once. She can forget protocol this once.  What else is there?  I can tell there’s more.”

“You know during the trial, I said that I was hearing Henrik’s lawyer. I think that I was really hearing Henrik,” she said so quietly that I barely heard her. I could feel and hear her fear with each word she spoke.

“Have you ever heard a vampire’s thoughts before tonight?” I asked hesitantly. I knew the answer immediately through the bond and for one brief second, she was going to lie. She was scared, and I understood that because any vampire that thought she could hear their mind would kill her. Just as I thought earlier during the trial.

“Yes,” she squeaked out.

“You have no reason to be afraid of me.  I promise,” I replied trying to allay her fears. Smoothing my thumb across her hand in mine.

“Even if it was you,” she asked in stilted words.

“Even if it was me.  When did this happen?”

“The night Longshadow attacked me but I didn’t want to I swear! It was horrible like snakes.  It was not a place I wanted to be.”

“Any other times other than tonight?” I asked calmly. I didn’t want to scare her.

“When I met Stan Davis, I heard his read name, but that’s it. I…”

“I trust you,” I said cutting her off, she was about to become hysterical. “During those times were you trying to read vampire minds?”

“No,” she said shaking her head.  “I was afraid of you back then, and after seeing inside your mind, I never wanted to see inside another vampire mind. I would never try, and I know that if word got out, I’d be killed or taken.”

“I know. I had the same thought. Do you have any theories as to why you’ve been able to read vampire minds those select few times?” I asked brushing my thumb along her pulse point at her wrist.

“The first two times I’d had Bill’s blood and then last night I that little nip of your blood and I was nervous every time,” Sookie answered looking everywhere but me.

“It goes without saying that this does not leave this room. Tell no one, and if happens again I want you to tell me as soon as possible, but don’t worry I won’t let anything happen to you. Now it’s been a long night so why don’t you get ready for bed and try to get some sleep. We’ll be leaving just after sundown to head back to Shreveport.”

Sookie hesitated for a moment but then retrieved a few of her things before heading to the bathroom and turning on the shower.

As for me, I tried to shield Sookie from my emotions as I shut down my side of the bond until I could only feel where Sookie was and that she was alive.

Sookie had read my thoughts and two other vampires. That was not good, and I had to make sure that no one ever found out. Not even Pam.  I had other things to think about like the fact that I didn’t want this to be the end of us. I had planned on spending the rest of my existence with her, and now that it could be in jeopardy I wasn’t sure how I would be able to spend the rest of my nights without Sookie in them, but it was better for us to know now than years down the road at least that was what I was telling myself. I was stuck in my own thoughts that I hadn’t heard the shower turn off or Sookie come out of the bathroom.  It wasn’t until I felt her warm hand on my cheek did I realize that she was right in front of me.

“Eric,” she whispered before she wrapped her arms around my neck and tucked her head under my chin.  “I already miss you, and you’re right here with me.” She was trying so hard not to cry.  I was sure that if I could feel her at that moment, I’d have the same feeling.

I didn’t know what to say so instead I moved the blankets down and placed us in the bed. I had already put in the code for the room, and the light-tight shutters were in place.  Now dawn couldn’t come soon enough. I didn’t want to think anymore even though dawn to dusk would only be like a blink of an eye for me.  I needed that blink of time. Tucking Sookie into my side, I rubbed one hand up and down her back before placing a kiss on her forehead.

“Goodnight, Sookie. I love you. Always.”

A sob hitched in her throat before she squeezed her arm that was on my stomach and holding onto my side.  “Goodnight, Eric. I love you more than you know.”

My last thought before dawn took me was that I hoped her love would be enough.

 

 


End file.
